Across the Ocean
by Dominus Princeps
Summary: .Wind Waker. Link and Medli found something in each other...But each has someone who loves them and hasn't spoken it.
1. Prologue

Across the Ocean

By Dominus Princeps

_A.N. For all purposes of this story, Link is seventeen years old; Medli is also seventeen, Tetra/Zelda is twenty, and the Rito prince is fifteen. By the way, I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I've forgotten the Rito prince's name...if anyone could jog my memory I'd appreciate it._

**Prologue: Memories**

She remembered the first time she met the boy in green. He had entered the ancestral roosting place of her people. She saw him while standing on a balcony and giggled at his dress. _What kind of weirdo wears _that_ kind of ridiculous outfit?_ she wondered. As she watched him, her amusement at his clothing diminished. She could see the determination in his eyes and the strength hidden in his casual stance. But there was something else...she could see the timid fear in his eyes as well. _He must be a long way from home...I bet he misses his mother..._ she thought. She was impressed at how casually the boy talked with the king of the Rito. He told the king that he needed Din's Pearl.

"_Din's Pearl?_" she hissed aloud, amazed that he would ask for such a thing. It was the treasure of her people! A little kid in green wouldn't just get it for asking! The king told the boy about his son, and then told the boy about the plight of the Rito—Valoo would not allow anyone to take his scales, thus the boy-prince of the Rito could not gain his wings, and then his adulthood. The green-clad boy nodded nonchalantly and took the letter that the king of the Rito gave him. He jogged off to the prince's quarters.

"Perhaps...he's got the courage, I think. Certainly, he has a sword..." she said to herself, watching him go.

ooo

She grinned to herself as she remembered her first real encounter with him. She had waited for him at the exit that led to the path to Dragon Roost. He came up and stopped as she waved to him.

"Hi, my name's Medli. I'm an attendant to Valoo...well, a novice attendant, but still...anyway, Valoo's been acting strange. He hasn't been letting anyone go near him, and his violent pounding and fire-breathing has been doing horrible things to this island. I see you've got a sword...can you please help me? I'm worried for the prince, too...by the way, how did he take that letter?" she knew she was rambling, but there was something about this boy that made her want to talk.

"Hmm? Oh, right. Well, he was a jerk, to be frank. Um...about Valoo..." the boy began. Medli nodded.

"Yes?" she encouraged.

"The boy said...eh, never mind. Let's go. My name's Link," he told her. Medli ran out to the dried spring. The boy in green kept easy pace with her, his lanky strides smooth beside her own stockier form. Medli hopped down into the dried spring and hailed him from where he still stood at the archway above the ruined bridge.

"This used to be a beautiful spring, but once, Valoo plugged it with a rock after a thrashing rage," Medli said sadly. "Anyway, could you throw me? If I get a little wind under my wings, I'm sure I can get up to that ledge."

"Sure. Uh...You want me to _throw_ you?" Link raised an eyebrow as he landed lithely on the ground. Medli nodded sheepishly.

"You look strong enough; I'm pretty light," she scuffed her feet. Link sighed and walked over to her. She crouched, and he lifted her easily. Something in his touch...Medli was so distracted she didn't realize he had thrown her until she saw the rock wall rushing at her. She spread her wings and frantically beat them, barely avoiding smashing into the hard rock.

"Um...thanks, and here, take this. It's not much, but it's all I've got to give you," Medli smiled awkwardly, tossing him a bottle. He caught it and eyed the bottle.

"Thanks. Uh...there isn't any way you can help me up to that ledge, is there?" Link asked. Medli looked around.

"Well...if you can get rid of that big rock, I'm sure the spring will well up again," she pointed. Link looked at her skeptically.

"Get rid of _that_? Who do you think I _am_, Din? ...well, thanks, anyway," he sighed. Medli winced; she hadn't meant to disappoint him. She turned and left, but stopped when she heard an explosion.

"Yee haw! Thanks for the bottle, Medli!" she heard his voice carry over the rough wind. Medli grinned and ran into Dragon Roost.

ooo

She remembered when he rescued her for the first time, too. Having been caught by Moblins, Medli sighed. She beat her fists against the wooden bars of her jail, but in vain.

"Oh, I knew I should have stuck around with Link!" she moaned. She looked up when she heard the shouts of Moblins and the sound of swordfighting. Medli stood with excitement when she saw Link battling two Moblins with swords and shields. He defeated them easily, but gaped when a larger Moblin was air-dropped into the arena. The Moblin grinned, lusting for the kill. It/he had a long glaive that looked fatally sharp. Link raised his shield and narrowed his eyes. Medli clasped her hands. She'd never seen anyone fight a Moblin guard and live. Link was clearly afraid of the huge, muscular Moblin, but circled it as if he had fought this kind of beast all his life. The monster wound back and swung its huge glaive at Link. Medli screamed. The blade hit Link's shield square in the center, and the force of the blow sent Link stumbling backward. Encouraged by Link's loss of balance, the Moblin advanced and raised its glaive above its head. It brought the weapon down, about to strike the defenseless Link. Medli put her hands up to her eyes, but peeked through her fingers. As the Moblin swung the glaive down, Link rolled to the side and performed a jumping uppercut slash on the Moblin's wide-open left flank. The monster roared in pain and surprise as blood sprayed through the air. Off-balance and pain-wracked, it reeled backwards. Link took the opening and stabbed it twice, jumped into the air for another uppercut, and then hit the ground with a vicious spin attack. The Moblin fell backwards, dead. In a burst of purple smoke, its evil spirit was dispelled, leaving behind a sparkling Skull Necklace. Panting, Link pocketed the Skull Necklace and put away his sword and shield. The green-clad boy caught his breath and walked over to Medli's wooden prison. He pulled the latch up and let her out.

"Th-thanks, Link. That was some nice sword work..." Medli blushed. Link smiled tiredly.

"I had to hike all the way up this mountain just to save you. And that's all I get?" he grinned. Medli fished in her pack.

"Nope. You can have this grappling hook too, if you want," she replied, smiling. Link held the grappling hook and nodded.

"Cool. Did you figure out what's wrong with Valoo?" he asked.

"Yeah! There's a monster who's bothering the poor thing! I've got faith that you can beat it, but..." Medli trailed off. In truth, she wasn't sure anyone could...what was beneath Valoo was a gigantic, armor-coated lava beetle.

"Alright. I'm on it. You go tell the Rito about it and I'll tackle this monster. Can't be too hard, can it?" Link grinned confidently, wiping sweat off his brow. Medli was captivated by his nonchalant manner, but knew she had to go tell the Rito.

"Right. See you soon!" Medli nodded. She spread her wings and soared down.

ooo

Much later that day, as Medli was impatiently awaiting the decision of the Rito council, Medli heard a hoarse voice.

"Medli!" she whirled to see Link staggering in the aviary. His hair was singed, and he had burns all over his face.

"It's done..." he said tiredly before falling face-flat. Medli caught him and hoisted him over her shoulder. She carried him into the Rito council.

"Well, for all your deliberating, you got nothing done—but Link just freed Valoo," Medli grumbled. The Rito councilmembers blinked before starting their hushed discussion again. Then, the prince entered.

"Are you serious? Valoo isn't..." he began. Medli shook her head excitedly.

"No! He's happy again; I can feel it!" she cheered. Link awoke from where he had been set down in a chair.

"Mmf!" the boy in green stretched. He scratched his head and winced as his arm touched a burn on his face.

"I'd better get back to my boat. The King of Red Lions is probably worried sick," he chuckled, shrugging his shoulders to adjust the position of his sword. Link walked off.

"Without even a thought of reward..." the king of the Rito began. He shook his head.

"Medli! Take my son and send him to that courageous lad! He deserves our greatest treasure!" the king said.

"But, father, that's my-" the boy-prince began.

"I know that. But it is rightfully his! He has saved our people," the king cut his son off. Medli put a comforting hand on the prince's shoulder. She then led him out to the sea, where Link was apparently talking to his boat.

"Um, Link. Thanks for all you've done, and...I think that the prince has something to say," Medli drew Link's attention. Link put his hands on his hips.

"I'm...I'm sorry for how I acted. And...I'd like to give you this," the prince said, shuffling over to Link. He handed Link Din's Pearl.

"Oh, wow! Hey, thanks! Look, King, it's Din's Pearl!" Link cheered. The boat nodded it's head.

"Indeed. Excellent work. Now, bid your friends goodbye; we must be off," the red boat said. Link winced and turned to Medli and the prince.

"Hey, hold on just a second, King? I'd like a little privacy," Link said. He turned to Medli.

"Hey, can we go out to that shrine of the Wind God for just a second?" Link asked. He glanced at the boy-prince and added, "Alone?"

"Sure," Medli nodded eagerly. She waved to her fellow Rito and jogged to catch up to where Link had already begun walking. He swam quickly to the shrine; Medli spread her wings and flew the short distance.

"What's up?" Medli asked. Link grinned shyly at her.

"Well... I just wanted to say goodbye, but...not in front of those guys, you know?" he said. Medli felt color rise to her cheeks. Her feet were suddenly very interesting.

"Um...yeah, I understand," she muttered. Link put a hand on her shoulder.

"And...I also wanted to say that...I don't know you very well, but I like your company, so...I'll swing by here every now and then, okay?" he said slowly. Medli looked up into his eyes. His beautiful, blue eyes...

"O-of course! Yeah, that'll be great! I'll be here; I'll be around!" she stammered. Link nodded.

"O-okay...um...I'd better get back. The King of Red Lions is probably coming around the island right now looking for me, so..." he said. Link dove into the water and swam over to shore. He waved to Medli before running off toward his boat. Medli sighed and glided over to where the prince was watching Link sail off.

"He's an amazing hero, isn't he, Medli?" the prince remarked, admiration in his eyes and voice. Medli nodded.

"Y-yeah, he is..." she said, mind on the green-wearing swordsman.

ooo

She thought about when he had taught her the Earth God's Lyric...she had felt something so deep within her awake. It was frightening and awesome at the same time. He had returned to Dragon Roost Island after a long month or so of sailing around the ocean.

"Medli! Medli!" she heard a voice calling from down below. Medli turned and looked around. She saw Link's green hat bobbing around on the lower balconies of Dragon Roost. Deciding to play hard-to-get, Medli began playing her harp. Link whirled around, looking for the source of the music. Several minutes later, Medli turned to see him swing across a small gap using her grappling hook.

"There you are. I heard your harp, and..." Link smiled.

"You've been away for a long time, Link," Medli said softly.

"Yeah...I've had a lot to do around town, you know," he grinned. Medli craned her neck. His sword...it wasn't the same as before.

"You got a new weapon?" she inquired, curious.

"Yeah. Yeah, this is the Master Sword, not that dinky old Hero's Sword. Although, that blade served me well..." Link nodded, unsheathing the sword.

"Oh, wow! That's the legendary blade of evil's bane, right?" Medli gaped. "Where'd you get _that_?"

"Uh...I...found it. In...a dungeon of course. Uh...hey, wanna play some music?" Link averted the topic.

"Oh, sure. What do you play?" Medli asked, interested. Link took out a white, decorated baton.

"Hey, that's the Wind Waker! Wow! Will you conduct me?" Medli asked eagerly, admiring the baton. Link nodded.

"Sure. Follow along!" he said. He proceeded to conduct a strangely familiar tune. Medli stared into space as she listened. Suddenly, the world spun around her eyes. She was approached by a strange woman who had both fish features and human features. The woman spoke softly to her and taught her a lilting melody. When Medli awoke, she was cradled in Link's arms.

"Hey...you okay?" Link asked worriedly, searching her eyes for an answer.

"Link...I'm the sage of Earth!" Medli exclaimed.

ooo

Sighing, she remembered when they had fought their way through the Earth Temple. That was probably the most frightening thing she'd ever done. She remembered how dark and dusty the temple was...also, she remembered, in particular, one terrifying event—being caught by a Floormaster. She was docilely following Link as he crept through a room. Suddenly, he ran into a patch of blue-purple mist.

"Crap! Curse-fog!" Link groaned. He was surrounded by a sickly purple aura.

"Oh, no...now you can't use your sword, right?" Medli frowned. Link nodded.

"I'll have to wait for it to dispel," he sighed. "In the meantime, let's keep going. They fought their way through the oppressive fog. It felt like Medli's lungs were being crushed. Link grasped her hand to give her strength. Medli's heart exploded as he gripped her palm.

"Link...it's so hard to go on..." Medli gasped.

"Keep...walking!" Link struggled to reply.

"It feels like something's grabbed hold of me..." she wheezed.

"I know...just keep going!" Link encouraged.

"Link! Something _has_ grabbed me!" Medli screamed. They heard the razor-sharp screech of the purple Floormaster.

"Medli!" Link cried as the thin, black-purple hand tugged on the Rito girl. Link dug his heels in, holding onto Medli's wrist with both hands.

"Link! Can't you get any more traction?" Medli suggested. She was sweating with fright. The Floormaster was slowly reeling her in.

"Hey! I know, my Iron Boots that I got from Ice-Ring Isle!" Link whispered. He willed the Iron Boots to materialize. With the amazing magic embedded in the heavy boots, they appeared on his feet.

"Let-her-go!" Link growled. He turned his back to the Floormaster and began walking, pulling Medli along with him. She cried out as her shoulder dislocated. Link faltered at her cry.

"Keep...keep walking, Link..." Medli sobbed with the pain. Link took four more steps, and the Floormaster let go, seeing no way to get its prey. Link fell forward suddenly after the Floormaster let go. He took off the Iron Boots and laid Medli out. She was still crying from the pain of her dislocated shoulder.

"Alright, Medli. Medli, look at me," Link commanded. She opened her eyes slowly and shuddered.

"It hurts. It really hurts," Medli sobbed. Link nodded.

"Okay, Medli. This is going to be a little painful, okay? Look at me, Medli. Look at me," Link said in a comforting voice. Medli met his gaze and held it. She felt his hands on her arm and winced at the sharp pain. Suddenly, she felt fire throughout her shoulder and then no more pain. At least, no more extreme pain.

"Thanks, Link..." Medli sighed. He stood and extended his hand. Medli gripped it, and he pulled her up. They held hands for just a few seconds longer before letting go.

"Let's get going," Link said.

ooo

_Of course, what reminiscence of the Earth Temple would be complete without Link's battle with that giant ghost?_ she thought, remembering. Link had walked up to the door and turned to her.

"Stay here. It's too dangerous past here," he instructed. Medli sighed and nodded.

"Okay," she allowed. He walked toward the door with the gigantic gold lock on it. She ran and grabbed his shoulder.

"Be careful, Link..." Medli said softly, putting a hand on his cheek. Link put his hand on hers.

"I always am," he grinned. He pulled out the ornate Boss Key and fit it in the lock. Both the key and the lock magically vanished. Link turned back to her and smiled slightly, then unsheathed his sword and mirrored shield. The door opened and shut hard behind him. Medli paced back and forth, pondering each and every fate that could await him through that door. She put her ear to the door, hoping to hear the action on the other side of the door. She heard a muffled cry of pain from the other side of the door and jumped.

"Link's in trouble! But what can I do?" Medli wondered desperately.

"How does he get those damn doors to open?" she pounded on the door with her fists. Medli stepped back, frustrated. _OPEN!_ she screamed in her mind. As simple as could be, the door rose, revealing Link facing down a huge, paunchy ghost. Shocked, Medli stared in awe.

"Medli! What are you doing? It's too dangerous for you here!" Link called.

"I'm here to help!" she yelled back, jostled from her reverie. She ran out into the room; the door shut heavily behind her.

"Now we're both stuck in here!" Link growled, dodging a blow from the ghost.

"Do you know how to fight it?" Medli asked.

"No. It's not material; weapons don't affect it," Link replied.

"Wait—didn't you fight these guys before?" the Rito girl inquired. "They hated light, right?"

"Hey, that's right! ...if I distract it, will you get it with a blast of light from your harp? I think there's a skylight around her somewhere..." Link suggested. Medli nodded and saw what he was referencing. Link kept the ghost's attention while Medli made her way over to the skylight. She pulled her harp off her back and angled it so the beam of light struck the ghost. It wiggled in agony and slammed to the ground, material weight now keeping it down.

"Now what?" Medli shouted.

"Now it's payback time!" Link growled.

"It's too big for your sword to do anything!" Medli called.

"That wasn't my plan!" Link's voice was slightly muffled from the ghost. Medli gaped as the ghost slowly lifted off the ground.

"What in Nayru's name are you _doing?_" she gasped. Link had a vicious grin on his face as he slowly pivoted to face one of the thorny pillars on the wall.

"Take..._this!_" Link roared, hurling the ghost at the pillar. It suddenly shattered into a multitude of multi-colored little ghosts that scrambled around all over the place.

"Take this and this and this and this!" Link growled as he slashed his way through the ghosts. Soon, there were none left.

"Thanks for the support, Medli. I probably couldn't have done it without you," Link grinned, clapping an arm around her shoulders. A large heart with a silver border dropped out of nowhere.

"Hey, the Heart Container!" Link cheered. He touched it, and suddenly a healthy color had returned to his skin.

"I'll never understand all the magic in this world..." Medli sighed. Suddenly, she felt something well up in her.

"Link...let's play," she said.

"Um...we've kind of got a job to do," Link raised an eyebrow.

"Music, you dummy!" Medli blinked. Link laughed.

"Oh. Right. Sorry," he blushed, placing the Master Sword in the center of the Triforce design in the room and taking out the Wind Waker. He began conducting, and Medli followed along on her harp. The Master Sword rose into the air. Suddenly, the two bulges on the side of the hilt sprang out into the familiar wing-like handguard shown in all the paintings of the famous sword. Link put the Wind Waker away and took the now fully powered sword. He sheathed it and walked toward the warp.

"Well? Aren't you coming?" Link turned back right before he stepped into the whirlwind.

"Link, I...I have to stay here and continue to pray for the...for the Master Sword," Medli's voice faltered. Link looked away.

"Oh...right. I guess...I guess I'll see you when it's all over, then," Link sighed. He turned back toward the warp. Medli ran up and touched his shoulder.

"Link...before you go, I..." she began. Link turned and put a hand on her waist.

"I'll miss you," he said softly. Medli bit her lip, looked down, then looked up and kissed him. Link's arms encircled her waist and pulled her close to him. Something in his tunic shook and began talking.

"Link! Link, we must be getting on! Now is the time to strike Ganon!" the King of Red Lions' voice spoke through the Gossip Stone. Link broke away from Medli.

"I'm sorry. I'd stay with you forever, but this is something I've gotta do," he said, pushing a stray lock of her red hair behind her ear.

"Link...Link, promise me you'll come back for me," Medli begged, gripping his hand with both of hers. He turned to face her with his signature confident grin.

"There's nothing that can stop me, not when I've got this old piece of junk," he tapped the Master Sword's hilt, "and you behind me."

"Good. I'll see you soon," Medli bowed her head. He walked over to kiss her forehead, then jogged into the whirlwind.

"Bye!" was his last word before he disappeared. Medli knelt to the ground.

"Oh, Goddesses, you who wrought the earth before any walked upon it..." she began.

ooo

And now, he still hadn't come back...she was so worried. She had been in the Earth Temple for a week at least. Her prayers were unceasing. At least there were the silent, glowing statues that hopped around; they provided her food and drink and were mildly entertaining when they fell over. She gazed at the ceiling in the chamber. _Link...Oh, Link. Are you still alive? ...No, of course you are. I'd know if you weren't. But where are you? Did you forget me? Did you meet someone else along your way? Someone more like you...someone who could be there for you..._ she thought miserably. _I know Zelda is of your race...did you fall in love with her and forget about me? Or are you trapped in the land beneath the waves...? Oh, Link...We never should have..._ she sighed at the end of that thought. She didn't even turn around as she heard the door open behind her.

"It's not yet time for noon meal," Medli said aloud, believing the visitor to be a servant of the Earth Temple.

"So?" a voice replied. Medli whirled. Standing in the doorway was Link! His clothing was torn, his hair was dirty, and the scabbard for the Master Sword was empty. He had a scar over his left eye, and the Mirror Shield which was mounted on his arm was cracked and dented. But he was alive.

"Link, oh, Link, you came for me!" Medli leapt into his arms. He kissed her and grinned.

"I promised, didn't I?" Link said. Medli nestled her chin on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Yeah, you did, didn't you?" she sighed. She closed her eyes.

"Come on; we've gotta go get Makar from the Wind Temple. He's probably just as lonely as you were," Link said. He set Medli down, and the two of them walked hand in hand to the warp.

"Link, you smell," Medli winced.

"I just fought the King of Evil. I should smell," Link sighed.

"No...you smell like salt," she pointed out.

"Well, I sailed here, so that makes sense, too," he chuckled.

"I'm just glad you're here. Don't get the wrong idea," she sighed, running a finger along his face as they appeared outside the Earth Temple.

"Well, shall we?" Link motioned to the King of Red Lions.

"Sure. Let's go," Medli jumped into the boat. Link followed, conducted the winds, and the two of them set sail.


	2. Chapter One

Across the Ocean

By Dominus Princeps

_A.N. Thanks to Natasha for Komali's name. BTW, Natasha, in the game, his big, round eyes are black...so I'm running off the color of his eyes from OoT._

**Chapter One**

Link yawned and checked his sea chart and compass before turning the tiller slightly. Medli sat on the side of the boat and watched the ocean as they sailed through it. Soon, though, Medli was hungry. Link had come a few hours before noon meal, and now it was probably an hour past noon.

"Hey, Link, do you have any food on this boat?" Medli asked. Link looked over from the tiller and grinned sheepishly.

"Nope. I didn't stop to stock up. We could always fish for some," he replied, scratching his head. Medli rolled her eyes. Link took down the mast and sail and folded the sail neatly. He then reached in the compartment near the King of Red Lions' bow and pulled out a pair of fishing rods. He gave one to Medli and then pulled a sea anchor from the same compartment. Link dropped anchor and then cast his line out and set the rod in its base. Medli imitated Link, never having fished, and then lay down in the boat, stretching. She heard a splash and shot up.

"Link!" she called worriedly.

"Yeah?" his voice wasn't in the boat...she looked over the edge and saw Link swimming around the boat, clearly enjoying himself. He had left his shield and scabbard in the boat so as not to get them wet or lose them.

"Come on in, Medli, the water's nice!" Link waved.

"I fly, not swim. When my feathers get wet they stick and get heavy," Medli replied. Link stuck his tongue out.

"Spoilsport!" he mocked, diving underwater. Medli shook her head and leapt into the air, unfurling her wings. When Link surfaced, Medli swooped down and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Waa! Hey, what the-?" his surprise was only momentary. "Medli?"

"Good guess," Medli grinned.

"Hey, I know! Drop me and I'll do some cool diving tricks!" Link suggested. Medli shrugged and let go. Link shot downward, performing a triple backflip before piercing the water like an arrow. Medli hovered over the water, waiting for him. He surfaced a few seconds later, gasping for air but happy. Medli grinned and shook her head.

"That was so cool," Link said, swimming for the boat.

"Well...it was alright," Medli teased. She landed in the boat and checked her line.

"Man...nothing yet. If we don't get anything in a half hour we'll keep moving," Link sighed. He pulled out his sea chart.

"We won't get to Windfall for four days at least, so we might have to change course and give the Great Deku Tree a visit..." Link muttered. Medli held a hand to her stomach.

"I'm hungry, but not too bad. I'll probably be fine until dinner," she said.

"Yeah...we totally should've stopped at Outset first...Medli, we're turning around, okay?" Link said. Medli shrugged.

"Okay. Want me to haul anchor?" she asked. Link nodded.

"Sure. You know where it goes?" he asked.

"Where else could it go?" she grinned. Medli walked over to where the chain ran over the side of the boat. She tried to lift it, but it was too heavy. Medli dug her heels in and began pulling the chain slowly but surely. At last, the anchor broke the surface. Medli hauled it into the boat, coiled the chain, and set it in the ship's compartment.

"Get the sail while you're there, would you?" Link said as he reeled in his fishing rod. Medli did as he instructed and pulled out the folded sail.

"Hey, an orange Rupee!" Link exclaimed, pulling the treasure off of his fishing rod.

"Wow!" Medli gasped, admiring the valuable piece. Link pulled out his wallet and dropped the Rupee into the wallet, which had an orange Rupee emblem on it.

"I haven't seen wallets made like yours..." Medli said, curious. Link grinned.

"That's because mine was blessed by a Great Fairy. It holds five thousand Rupees," he said proudly.

"Oh, wow, a real Great Fairy?" Medli was impressed. Link nodded. He placed the fishing poles in the ship's compartment and unfolded the sail. He put up and secured the mast, then attached the sail. Link used the Wind Waker to conduct the winds, then turned the tiller and they were off.

"Can you see where we're headed?" Medli asked.

"Here, take this spyglass and look between the King of Red Lions' horns. You'll be able to see two peaks with a bridge between them; that's Outset..." Link trailed off. "My home."

"How long has it been since you were home?" Medli turned back away from the bow. She leaned against the mast.

"I...I don't know. Half a year...a year...It all blends together," he sighed. He locked the tiller and sat on the side of the boat. Medli sat beside him.

"It's just that...I've fought for so long, and I haven't seen what I've been fighting for in so long..." Link sighed. He turned to Medli.

"Do you know what I mean?" he asked. Medli shook her head.

"Not really. All I did for you was give you my grappling hook and pray for your sword," Medli looked down. "You've done so much for this land, and I really haven't done anything."

"Praying for my sword was just as important as my swinging it at Ganondorf," Link chuckled. Medli smiled.

"Well, thanks," she said. A drop of rain hit Medli square on the forehead. Another two sprinkled Link.

"Hey, it's raining!" Link smiled, looking around. Sure enough, the rain was beginning to come down. Medli looked at the rain as well.

"I've never seen rain like this...it hardly ever rains on Dragon Roost, and when it does, it's not very much. I didn't know that rain came down like this!" Medli said. Soon, the rain was in full swing, and Medli and Link were soaked.

"You're beautiful when you're wet, Medli. You oughta swim with me sometime," Link ran a hand down her soaked face. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Ow, hey! Watch that beak!" he winced. Medli drew back.

"I'm sorry," she bit her lip, embarrassed.

"It's alright," he said, comforting. Link slung an arm around her shoulders.

"There's nothing that you need to be sorry about. It's who you are," he said softly. Medli nodded.

"Hey, Link? Is it okay to be sailing in a thunderstorm?" Medli asked. Link frowned.

"Thunderstorm? Those clouds looked like the usual rainclouds to me..." he said slowly. Suddenly, the water began churning.

"Big Octo!" Link exclaimed as the fearsome monster broke the surface. Link dove for the ship's compartment and grabbed his Boomerang from it. He focused his mind on the multiple eyes of the Big Octo and threw the Boomerang. The ruby inlaid at the middle of the curve of it flashed and the Boomerang whipped around, following a course no normal boomerang could. Then, having struck the Big Octo's four eyes, the Boomerang returned to Link's hand.

"Wow, that's quite a boomerang!" Medli gaped, disbelieving. Link shrugged.

"It's magic. That's all I can say," he grinned, throwing the Boomerang again. The Big Octo writhed as the Boomerang struck its tender, vulnerable eyes. Link threw the Boomerang one more time, and this time the Octo's eyes sealed up. The fearsome beast whimpered, made a strange sound, and disappeared. A ring of light appeared where it had died.

"Hey, treasure!" Link grinned eagerly. He pulled the grappling hook and an odd rig from the ship's compartment. He replaced the mast with the rig and fed the grappling hook through part of it.

"Well, seems like you're getting good use from my old grappling hook, huh?" Medli smiled. Link nodded and turned the boat toward the ring of light. The boat was smart enough to know to cruise to the ring of light, whereupon Link hit a button and the hook of the grapping hook dropped into the sea. When it was fully reeled out, Link began turning a crank to draw the grappling hook back.

"Come on...come on..." Link whispered, peering over the edge from where he was cranking. Medli looked over the side, and even the King of Red Lions was watching intently. Link cheered as a black treasure chest popped up. He locked the grappling hook rig and swung the boom so that the chest hovered over the deck of the boat. Link lowered the chest slowly, then ran over to it. He took the hook from where it had hooked the chest and then opened the chest.

"Oh, wow! It's a treasure chart!" Link cheered. Medli watched him with mild amusement. He was acting just like a little kid who gets a piece of paper with a crude map and an X.

"If we get some time, let's go hunt for treasure! It's been so long since I went that I've got like fourteen treasure charts that I haven't filled," Link said to Medli. She shrugged and smiled. Link put away the rig and the grappling hook and set up the mast and sail. He took out his spyglass and searched the horizon.

"Ah, there's Outset. Alright, we're off!" he said, pinning the sail in place. The boat shot forward as the wind filled the sail.

ooo

The sunset was long gone as Link and Medli cruised to the end of the pier. Link tied the boat and jumped up to grab a hold of the end of the pier. He hoisted himself up and reached his hand down to help Medli. She took his wrist and he pulled her up. When they were both standing flat on the pier, Link looked around at his home island.

"It's so different than it was...and yet there's something so familiar..." he sighed. Medli took his hand and squeezed it.

"Don't worry, Link! I'm sure everyone will be happy to show you around. You _are_ the Hero of the Winds, after all," she smiled. Link nodded.

"Yeah...I guess I am, huh?" he sighed. Link walked hand in hand with Medli over to his house overlooking the beach. He hesitated when they reached the door.

"Will Grandma even recognize me...?" Link said haltingly. Medli knocked on the door for him. Link looked at her with questioning eyes, but she merely smiled and pointed at the door. It opened slowly, and a girl in a blue sundress jumped into Link's arms.

"Big Brother!" Aryll cried, burying her face in Link's chest.

"Aryll!" Link hugged his sister tightly.

"Wow, you've really grown up, haven't you? You look...awful. You smell funny, too," Aryll blinked, taking a step back from Link. Link laughed.

"Awful? Is that how you greet your big bro after he's just defeated the King of Evil?" he grinned. Aryll ran a finger through a rip in Link's green tunic.

"Is that from one of his swords?" she gasped. Link nodded.

"That still aches a little," he replied.

"Oh, wow, my brother's a master swordsman! Wait till Orca hears about this!" Aryll cheered.

"Where's Grandma?" Link asked.

"Oh...she went to Orca's brother's house to get some tea because I couldn't sleep. And it was because I knew you were coming home, Big Brother!" Aryll said happily. She noticed Medli for the first time.

"Uh...whoa, wait, you're a Rito! Like the postman! Hey, cool! What's your name?" Aryll asked, curiosity filling her eyes.

"My name's Medli," Medli responded.

"Hey, you're not brown-skinned like the other Rito. You're pale like me and Big Brother. Why's that?" Aryll tilted her head. Medli bit her lip.

"Ah...I don't know why. I mean, I never really thought about it," she answered. Aryll pointed.

"Hey, there's Grandma! Look!" she said excitedly. Link turned and saw his grandmother walking up the path.

"Go on, Link," Medli said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. Link nodded slowly and walked down the path. Medli watched him go. When he reached his grandmother, they both stopped, then hugged fiercely. Medli's heart flew out to Link.

"Are you Big Brother's girlfriend?" Aryll asked, looking up at Medli. Medli smiled.

"I guess so," she replied softly, watching Link and his grandmother rock back and forth. Aryll looked back to Link and their grandmother.

"You seem nice. But what will your kids be like? Will they have beaks, or will they be normal?" Aryll pondered aloud. Medli blushed madly and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Uh...I...don't know, Aryll," she replied simply. Link returned with his grandmother at that moment.

"Grandma, I'd like you to meet Medli, one of the sages. She's the one that gave me the power to fight evil with the Master Sword. Medli, this is my grandma," Link introduced. Medli reached out to shake her hand, but the old woman hugged Medli instead.

"You helped my Link fight the King of Evil? Oh, oh, oh...you must be a powerful witch indeed, if you can bless the sword of evil's bane!" she said. Medli looked at Link, who smiled warmly at her. Link's grandmother stepped back to look at Medli.

"You're a pretty girl, Miss Medli. I admit that I've never seen a female Rito, but if they all look like you, then boys from all islands of the sea must flock to your home island," the old woman grinned. She pinched Medli's cheek and stepped towards the door.

"Well? Come on, let's go inside and have some tea," she motioned for them to enter. Aryll skipped into the house. Link took Medli's hand.

"Thank you, Medli. Thanks for knocking on that door when I didn't have the courage," he said softly before the two of them entered the house. Link's grandmother was already making a pot of tea when they walked into the kitchen/bedroom. Aryll was seated on the top bunk, her legs hanging over the edge.

"Hey, Big Brother! Tell me the story of when you fought the King of Evil! I wanna hear it!" Aryll said excitedly.

"Are you sure? It's scary..." Link teased.

"Of course I'm sure! I'm not scared of anything!" Aryll nodded fiercely. Link turned to Medli.

"You wanna hear it, too?" he asked.

"Sure. I've seen you fight, but I'm sure Ganondorf was much harder than Moblins and such," Medli assented. Link stood up.

"Okay. So I had just defeated Puppet Ganon, right? ..."

ooo

_Link climbed hand over hand up the huge rope coming from what was apparently a bell tower. When he reached the top, Link looked around. There was a rafter that looked round enough...Link took out his grappling hook and swung it for the rafter. It wrapped around and caught. Link stopped his swinging and climbed up the grappling hook until he could hoist himself up onto the rafter. He balanced carefully and then hopped over to the main platform. Link then took out the ever-handy Hookshot and aimed for the wooden platform nearby. He pulled the trigger and the spear-like head shot from the barrel of the Hookshot. The head planted firmly into the wood of the platform. Then, Link shot into the air as the Hookshot's chain retracted into the barrel of the Hookshot, pulling Link with it. The head of the Hookshot detached from the wood, and Link dropped to the platform below. Link unsheathed his sword and fitted his shield on his arm and walked out onto the tower in front of him._

"_Well, well, well...all here, now aren't we?" Ganondorf's sinister voice greeted Link. Suddenly, Link's Triforce glowed and disappeared from his hand, as did Zelda's...and Ganondorf's. The Triforce in full glory appeared behind Ganondorf._

"_And, as my wish, I wish for-" Ganondorf cackled._

"_I wish Hyrule to sink beneath the waves and be flooded forever!" a deep voice boomed._

"_What?" Ganondorf's eyes widened. He whirled to face...Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule._

"_Not fair!" Ganondorf hissed._

"_I got here first," King Hyrule narrowed his eyes. Link hit his sword against his shield._

"_Come on! Let's finish this, Ganondorf!" Link growled._

"_You'd better be quick. Hyrule is flooding..." Ganondorf grinned. He motioned to the water falling on the tower._

"_I don't need much time to defeat you, Ganon!" he ran at the Evil King._

"_Link, look out!" Zelda cried. And just in time, too. Her warning gave Link just enough time to raise the Mirror Shield before Ganondorf stabbed his twin swords right at Link. The force of the blow knocked Link backward several feet. To his horror, the Mirror Shield was dented! Link circled Ganondorf, sword at the ready. The King of Evil began a long slash combination that Link backflipped away from. His final attack was a jump slash. Link rolled to the side and performed an uppercut counter-slash, which stunned Ganondorf momentarily. Link then proceeded to slash Ganondorf mercilessly. The King of Evil eventually blocked a slash, then leaped into the air to avoid the next one. He landed with a vicious slash that caught Link right in the chest. Link stumbled backwards at the attack, pain blurring his vision. He focused and struck at Ganondorf, who blocked the attack easily and replied with his own attacks. Link was hard-pressed to block them all, but managed his best effort. Ganondorf for no reason flipped his swords behind his back as though blocking something._

"_Damn!" Zelda cursed. Ganondorf shrugged a Light Arrow off of his swords and returned to pounding on Link. A sudden slash cut Link's left brow and cheek, causing blood to run into his eye. Link rubbed the blood from his eye quickly, but was caught under the chin by a nimble kick from Ganondorf, which sent him crashing to the ground. Link held his shield up feebly. Ganondorf raised his swords for a final blow, when suddenly something struck Link's Mirror Shield and reflected into Ganondorf's chest. The force of the attack knocked Ganondorf into the air, and the King of Evil slammed to the ground twenty feet away._

"_A Light Arrow?" Link gasped, turning to Zelda. She winked at him. The force of the arrow had fractured Link's shield, and Link knew that Zelda had put all her magic into it. Link stood and let out a battle cry. He raised his sword and ran at Ganondorf. But at the last moment, Link saw Ganondorf stir. His sword flicked out. Link jumped over the attack, slashed Ganondorf, and then stabbed his sword into Ganondorf's forehead._

"_Ah! Aaaaaaaaah! Not again!" Ganondorf cried as his body was encased in stone. Suddenly, Link was up to his thighs in water. Zelda waded over to him._

"_How are we gonna get out of here?" Link asked frantically. They were suddenly aware of someone behind them._

"_King Hyrule!" they said in unison._

"_Oh, my children...It is time for Hyrule to sink once again from memory..." the king said mournfully. Zelda shook her head._

"_No, hey! We can make a new Hyrule, together!" she said, voice wavering._

"_No, my daughter...the time of Hyrule is over. You, my children, must make a new kingdom, all for yourselves!" the king said. Suddenly, all the water came crashing down around them. Link found himself in a bubble._

"_What the...?" he whispered, touching the walls of his bubble. Zelda was reaching desperately for her father, who was not encased in a bubble. But the King turned away from her and disappeared into the sea._

ooo

"Wow! That was a great story, Big Brother! Did you really do all that? Is that really why you have a big cut on your tunic and why your shield is dented and stuff?" Aryll fired off excitedly. Link nodded.

"All I have said is true...but I wonder about the King...he still lives in the King of Red Lions..." Link murmured.

"Tea's ready!" his grandmother announced, bringing four cups of tea on four saucers. Medli thanked her quietly and turned back to Link.

"So, that's where this scar came from?" she traced the pale white line from the top of Link's left brow down to the middle of his left cheek. His eyebrow was split into two segments from the scar.

"Yep. That's where it comes from," Link replied. He sipped his tea.

"So, you've finally come home to stay?" his grandmother asked. Link stopped. Her face fell.

"You've still got to..." she said softly.

"We stopped by to restock on food and rest. I've still got to spread the word about the new kingdom Tetra is proposing. But you'll see me around, don't worry. Don't worry," Link said. His grandmother sighed sadly.

"I guess...I guess it's good you can take on grown-up responsibilities...but Aryll and I always miss you," she sighed. Link nodded.

"Hey, it's no easy task for me to leave you guys behind. I'm just lucky I've got people out on the ocean who care about me, too," he sighed. At this comment, he turned to Medli for a split second before turning back to his grandmother.

"So...if you can make us a vat of soup, we'll take it with us when we leave tomorrow morning. We'll get food from elsewhere if you can't. But anything is appreciated, Grandma. And I love you; I always have," Link smiled. His grandmother walked over to him and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Link...you'll always be my little boy!" she said tenderly. She stepped back.

"He got you good, didn't he?" she frowned at the gash in the green fabric of Link's tunic.

"Hey, Link, where'd your hat go?" Medli asked. Link felt for the hat, then pulled it out of a pocket in the tunic.

"I put it away when I came to the Earth Temple; I didn't want it to blow off in the wind," he explained. Medli nodded. The cap and, indeed, the rest of the tunic were threadbare and worn from Link's journeying across the ocean.

"Hey, Medli, want a tour of the island?" Link grinned.

"Sure. I'd love that," she assented. Link led her out the door. Right before she crossed the doorframe, Medli heard Link's grandmother say one thing.

"He loves her."

ooo

"...And here's where the bridge used to be. In that forest is the Great Fairy of this island," Link pointed across the gap to the forest.

"Wanna go into the forest?" Medli asked, unfurling her wings.

"Why not? It's been a while," Link said.

"Since you went or since you held onto my ankles for dear life?" Medli grinned. Link picked her up with the same ease that he always had.

"Well...maybe both," he chuckled, gripping her ankles tightly. He ran to the ledge and took a broad leap as she flapped her wings. Her strokes weren't nearly as powerful as the postmen's wingbeats, but they were enough to carry her and Link across the gap. They landed softly, and Link set Medli down.

"Been a while, eh?" Medli chuckled. Link wiped his forehead.

"Let's just say that I prefer using my Deku Leaf to relying on you," he jabbed. Medli rolled her eyes and walked toward the entrance to the forest. Link caught up with her easily and took her hand.

"It's so nice and cool in here," Medli remarked. Even at night, Outset was muggy, but as Medli had said, the forest was cool. They heard the clicking of feet, and Medli jumped, frightened.

"Don't worry; it's just the giant moth larva. If you don't bother them, they won't _bug_ you either," Link grinned at his pun. Medli groaned and kept walking. They reached an elevated part in the ground which had a hole in the center.

"Is that the entrance to the Great Fairy's spring?" Medli asked.

"Yep. Wanna go?" Link replied. Medli shrugged and let go of Link's hand before hopping into the hole. Something was wrong...she was falling too fast! But, just before she crashed to the ground, a mysterious force slowed her fall. Medli sighed with relief and stepped out of the ray of light.

"It gets everybody the first time," Link grinned as he touched down. Medli shook her head and walked toward the fountain. Link walked up beside her. A small fairy hovered in the center of the fountain. It performed a spiral in midair and then, in a puff of smoke, turned into a dark, four-armed woman.

_Young waker of the winds..._ Medli heard her voice, but the woman wasn't speaking.

"Hey, what's up? I never did thank you for the extension on my wallet," Link grinned.

_Oh, I'm always eager to help out a hero in need,_ the Fairy grinned wordlessly.

"This is the Sage of Earth, Medli. Medli this is the Great Fairy of, eh...of Rupees," Link joked.

_Indeed? The Sage of Earth? Tell me, what happened to Laruto?_ the Great Fairy asked.

"Ganondorf stole her soul, apparently. But I'm doing her job, now," Medli said cheerily.

_Ah. Well, it's nice to see a new face on the job. Not that Laruto was a bad Sage, or anything, but I'm glad that the...younger generation has picked up the habits of the old,_ the Fairy smiled.

"Well...nice seeing you, Great Fairy. We'll be back sometime soon!" Link grinned. The Fairy nodded and disappeared in echoing laughter.

"Well...I've never had a conversation with a magical being of any sort, really. Except for Valoo, but that was in his language, not my own," Medli admitted.

"Hangin' out with me, Medli, you're getting all kinds of experiences!" Link smiled, throwing an arm around her shoulders. They walked into the sparkling light and shot up out of the Great Fairy Fountain. Link led Medli around the forest, showing her places where events from his boyhood had happened.

"And there, Medli, was where Tetra was hanging when I came in to rescue her. And that, really, started this whole adventure," Link pointed to where there had obviously been a branch before it had broken under Tetra's weight. Medli nodded and stretched.

"I'm sorry, Link...this has been a nice tour, but I'm really tired from everything that's happened today. Can we head back to your house?" she yawned.

"Easy. Let's leave the forest and then you and I can glide down," Link said. They left, and Link picked up Medli.

"How come _I_ always do all the work?" Medli sighed, spreading her wings. Link leaped from the ledge and Medli angled her wings so that they slowly made their way to the ground. They touched down on Link's front porch.

"Nice flying," he grinned.

"Hey, your tunic is ripped even more! Must've been from when you were raising your arms to hold onto my ankles..." Medli pointed out. Link held the tunic so that he could see.

"Well...it's about time I got some new duds, anyway," he sighed. Medli ran a hand along the worn, battle-torn fabric.

"I don't know...green suits you," she said. Link rolled his eyes.

"I'd much rather wear something else, though. I've been wearing this tunic for probably a year and a half, now," he grimaced. Medli raised an eyebrow.

"Wow. That's dedication," she teased. Link pushed her playfully and opened the door quietly. His grandmother was asleep in front of the fire, and Aryll was sleeping in the top bunk of the bunk beds. Link pulled out a mat and pillow.

"Here, you sleep in the bed. I'll take this mat," he said. Medli yawned.

"Thanks, Link. Good night..." she said sleepily. Her head had not been on the pillow for thirty seconds before she was asleep.


	3. Chapter Two

Across the Ocean

By Dominus Princeps

**Chapter Two**

She sat on the stool, a glass of slightly processed Black Chu Jelly in her hand. She took a swing of the bitter beverage and winced. A pleasant buzz filled her head.

"Ah, Link...I wonder where you are," she sighed, taking another drink of the Black Chu Jelly. She shook her head.

"We never shoulda parted...I shoulda taken you with me, Link...Oh, I miss you..." she murmured into her Chu Jelly. She drained the glass and hit the bar.

"'Nother glass of Black, wouldja?" she called to the bartender. He nodded dutifully and filled her glass with the viscous black gel. She drank a large gulp from it and shook her head as the sensation rushed through her body.

"Ah...Link, Link...little green kid...heh. Cute, wasn't he? Yeah, with that dinky little sword. But then he got that blue one. Right...what was it called?" she muttered to herself. She shook her head and drained the glass of Black Chu Jelly.

"An...another glash of Bl-Bla-ack, batenderrrr," her tongue was clumsy and her words slurred. The bartender shook his head.

"Naw, you've had enough, miss. Now shall I call an escort for you?" he replied. She pounded the bar angrily and reached for her dagger.

"I shaid, anudder glash...Black..." her vision left her just before her consciousness.

ooo

"Have you seen Medli recently, dad? I know Link took her to the Earth Temple, but since he defeated Ganon already, shouldn't she be home?" he asked. His father shook his head.

"No, I haven't, lad. Maybe you should talk to Valoo about her. They have a special bond, that dragon and that girl," his father replied. He nodded.

"Yeah...but it's a little late; I don't want to disturb the lord Valoo," he sighed. His father shrugged.

"If you insist," his father said as he left. He watched his father go before he turned back to gaze at the engraving of himself and Medli on the day he had gotten his scale from Valoo.

"Oh, Medli...It's a good night for a short flight," he sighed, leaving his room. He walked out on the shore and spread his wings. In a few short, powerful wingbeats he was off the ground and over the ocean. He wove in and out of rocky peaks out on the northeastern coast of Dragon Roost Island, then swooped over the mountain and glided onto a stone balcony.

"Nice to get a breath of fresh air...but..." he sighed, thinking of the copper-haired girl who had helped him so much. He shook the feeling, or tried to, and walked into his bedroom. It was late.

ooo

Light was streaming in the window by the time Medli woke. There was no one else in the house besides her. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched. She scratched an itch on her chin and walked out of the house. Aryll was tending a small garden beside the house.

"Hi, Miss Medli! This is my flower garden. Link brought me some seeds from Forest Haven one time, and I planted them. Aren't they pretty?" Aryll pointed out some beautifully vibrant flowers in her garden.

"Are those just native flowers to this island?" Medli pointed at the taller but less colorful plants next to the special Forest Haven blossoms.

"Yep. But they're still pretty, just in a different way," Aryll replied. Medli looked out to the pier and saw two figures loading things onto the King of Red Lions. The one with the tousled blond hair turned back, and Medli jumped. It was Link! She hadn't recognized him since he wasn't wearing his green tunic. He was wearing a blue shirt and khakis. He looked up, saw Medli, and waved. Medli waved back and spread her wings. She lifted into the air and swooped down to the pier.

"Nice to see you awake, sleeping beauty," Link teased. Medli clocked him with a wing before folding them away. The other man with Link was a wiry, grey-haired man. He was certainly old, but it seemed to Medli that he had a very young composure.

"Medli, this is Orca, the man who taught me the ways of the sword. Orca, this is my partner in crime, Medli," Link introduced them. Medli shook his hand. He had a strong grip.

"Nice to see you've finally met a nice girl, Link," Orca chuckled. He turned suddenly to Medli.

"Oh, oh...You're the one who powered up the Master Sword to its full potential..." he said, awestruck. "For such a young girl, that's quite an accomplishment."

"Um...thank you, elder Orca," Medli bowed in respect to the swordmaster. Orca laughed.

"Elder...heh, I guess I am old. Link...before you two sail off, and I know that's what you're about to do, follow me back to my house. I've got something for you," he said. Link nodded reverently and followed Orca dutifully back to his house. Medli trailed Link. They all entered Orca's modestly furnished house. Orca reached behind a worn and beaten whale fixture and pulled an ornate scabbard with an equally ornate sword in it. He handed it to Link.

"This, my young Link, is the Prism Sword," Orca said. Link unsheathed the blade and blinked. Multicolored light reflected off of the multi-faceted blade, making points of different colors flash around on the walls.

"This sword can change itself in many different ways. I haven't journeyed from this island in a long time; seeing as you will, I'm sure you'll find out many things about it as you travel," Orca explained. Link sheathed the blade and held it in his hand.

"Thank you, master. I'll...I'll always remember you and your teaching, no matter where I go," he said, looking at his feet. A tear dropped to stain the floor. Medli wiped Link's other tears with her fingers.

"You keep Link safe," Orca placed a hand on Medli's shoulder. She nodded.

"I will, elder Orca," Medli said fervently. She and Link left Orca's house and stepped into the bright, hot sunshine of Outset Island.

"Hey, like my new clothes?" Link asked. Medli looked him up and down. He was wearing light khaki pants and a blue shirt with a white lobster emblem on it.

"I like your green stuff, but this looks nice, too," Medli smiled. Link kissed her cheek and walked down the pier. Medli followed him.

"Do we have everything?" she asked.

"Yep. Grandma made us a huge cauldron of her soup, and some other people drew out of their personal stocks to give us a large bag of salted fish," Link smiled. He turned back to look at the island and his breath caught in his throat. Medli turned around and saw that the entire island had come out to bid Link goodbye.

"Oh...oh, wow..." Link said softly. He and Medli waved before hopping into the King of Red Lions.

"I've seen it once before...but that was so long ago, I had forgotten what it felt like," Link said softly. Medli took his hand and squeezed it.

"It's nice having a whole island that loves you, huh?" she smiled. Link conducted the winds with the Wind Waker and hoisted the sail.

"Well...we're off!" he said, untying his boat. The boat accelerated quickly and sped across the waves. Soon, Outset was merely a large shadow in the distance. Link looked back to his home island, then looked forward.

"We've got enough water for a week, so we won't stop for anything until we hit Windfall, okay?" he said. Medli nodded.

"Okay. Um...did you eat any breakfast, Link?" she asked. Link shook his head.

"No, and I don't suspect you got any either. Here, let's break out the soup," he grinned. He locked the tiller and strode over to the cauldron resting near the bow. Link slid the top open and pulled two bowls from the ship's compartment.

"What _don't_ you have in there?" Medli raised an eyebrow. Link chuckled.

"Not much," he said. He served himself and Medli generous portions of the golden-brown soup and handed Medli a spoon. Medli spooned some soup into her mouth and made a pleased noise.

"Like it?" Link grinned.

"This is hearty soup! Wow, that's good!" Medli said, eyeing the soup.

"Grandma's special recipe. I always carry around a bottle of it when I go adventuring; it keeps me healthy, you know?" Link nodded. Medli chuckled.

"This'll certainly keep you healthy! I feel stronger already," she said, licking her lips. Link smiled and continued to drink his soup. When they were done, Link took their dirty dishes and washed them by dipping them into the sea that rushed by them.

"Is that sanitary?" Medli winced.

"Plenty. This is what I've been doing for a long time, and do I look sick to you?" Link replied. Medli sighed and watched the prism-like ocean pass by. She jumped when Link yelled.

"Medli, look!" he cried, pointing. A large ship with several different sails was being bombarded by many smaller ships with cannons. The large ship was battling them valiantly, but there were too many of the small ships, and their efforts were taking heavy tolls on the large ship. Link sailed up to the scene and gasped.

"That's Tetra's ship! Medli, lower the sail!" he cried. Medli unhooked the sail, and the ship coasted to a stop. Meanwhile, Link had pulled a large sack of something out of the ship's compartment as well as a fearsome cannon. He affixed the cannon and stepped up to the platform attached to it.

"Medli, you steer. I'll fire the cannon," Link instructed. Medli nodded and stood at the tiller.

"Keep course..." Link said, concentrating. He aimed the cannon and fired. A blue bomb streaked form the cannon's barrel and struck one of the enemy ships square in the side, ripping a huge hole in its hull. The boat quickly sank. Medli angled the ship for a strafing run on another nearby ship. Link aimed the cannon and launched a bomb at the offending ship. The blue explosive struck the ship in its cannon, causing an explosive chain reaction that made a large and loud explosion. By now, the enemy ships had noticed the relatively small, red boat that had taken out two of their twelve. They began to converge on the King of Red Lions.

"Weave, Medli! Weave!" Link shouted over the din of explosions and cannons firing. He aimed at whatever ship he could see and fired off bombs in rapid succession. A nearby miss rocked the boat, hurling Medli to the deck. She cracked her head against the side of the boat and groaned. Her vision swam as she tried to stand. She grabbed a hold of the tiller and steadied herself. Medli ducked a low-flying bomb and gulped.

"That was close..." she muttered. Link pumped his arm.

"There's another. I think we drew them out enough so that the pirates can give us some support," he cheered. Sure enough, the heavy cannons of the huge pirate ship began booming. They did a much quicker job of sinking the seven remaining ships than Link had done with the five he'd taken personally. When there were no more cannon ships, Link and Medli put away the cannon and cruised over to the pirate ship. A rope ladder was lowered to them, so Link lowered sea anchor and jumped over to the ladder. Medli spread her wings and flew up to the deck. Soon after, Link pulled himself onto the deck.

"Hey, Link! You remember ol' Gonzo?" Gonzo grinned widely, putting Link in a headlock.

"Ah! Yeah, I remember! Hey, lemme go!" Link struggled against the burly pirate's grip.

"Thanks for the help, ol' buddy. When they got close, I thought we were done for," Gonzo patted Link's head after releasing him.

"Well, you guys are my buddies; what am I supposed to do?" Link grinned. He looked around.

"Where's Tetra?" he asked.

"We were coming to Outset to ask _you_ that. We saw your red boat pass us a few days earlier and thought that you were going after her since you two...uh, well..." Gonzo blushed at the end of his statement. Medli raised an eyebrow at Link. Link looked over at Medli and shrugged.

"I mean, she has pictures of you in her room and all, I just thought..." Gonzo was still blushing.

"Gonzo, I'm not going out with Tetra. I haven't seen her since I promised her that I would spread the word about her new kingdom," Link sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh...sorry. So...would this be the lucky lady?" Gonzo motioned toward Medli.

"Yep. Medli, this is Gonzo, Tetra's first mate. Gonzo, this is Medli, the Sage of Earth," Link introduced them.

"Nice to-" Medli began. Gonzo fell onto his knees and placed his forehead against the deck.

"Oh, please, powerful mistress, don't use your power on me! I don't like zombies!" the pirate whimpered. Medli took a step back.

"What are you _talking_ about? Zombies?" she asked, surprised. Gonzo opened one eye and looked up at her.

"You don't know what they say about the Sage of Earth? Tetra has all kinds of books about the Sages and other things. Her books say that the Sage of Earth can summon zombie warriors that will fight for the Sage in battle," Gonzo blinked. Link chuckled.

"Medli may have the power to enhance the Master Sword, but she's no necromancer," he said. Gonzo picked himself up.

"Sorry," he blushed, dusting his chest off.

"Hey, it's my old swabbie!" a grating, high-pitched voice called. Link rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You haven't tossed him overboard yet?" Link grinned to Gonzo. Gonzo chuckled.

"Din knows I've wanted to," the pirate grumbled. Niko ran up to Link.

"Hey, hey, you've changed your gear? What happened to the green get-up?" Niko asked.

"It was totally torn up and stuff from my battle with Ganon. Plus it was threadbare...and nobody liked it," Link replied.

"I liked it," Medli grinned, cuffing Link on the back of the head with a wing. Link smiled.

"Okay, so you and my grandma liked it. But that's it," he snorted. Niko peered at Medli.

"Now, who's this? A girl for the Hero of Winds? Well, well, swabbie..." Niko grinned.

"So, where are you guys headed?" Link pointedly ignored Niko.

"We're sailing around, searching for Miss Tetra. We can give you a lift somewhere, as long as it's on our way," Gonzo replied.

"We're headed for Windfall," Link said.

"Sorry, Link, but we're going west-southwest. Totally out of our way. I mean, we'd love to, but..." Gonzo trailed off.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Gonzo. We'll look for her, too. If we find her, we'll tell her you're looking for her. See you guys around," Link said, shrugging. He climbed quickly down the rope ladder. Medli swooped down into the boat and stuck her tongue out at Link as he made his way down. He thumbed his nose and jumped off the rope ladder. Link pulled himself into the boat and hoisted the sail. The King of Red Lions quickly accelerated, headed straight north.

"Sounds like Tetra has a thing for you, Link," Medli grinned. Link rolled his eyes as he locked the tiller.

"Yeah, well, she always did seem a little friendly," he replied.

"Did you ever pick _her_ up and carry _her_ through a temple?" she teased. Link snorted.

"I don't do that to _every_ girl I meet, you know," Link said. Medli laughed.

"Well, that makes me feel better," she said. Link leaned against the mast, facing her where she sat against the side of the boat. He knelt down in front of her and ran his fingers along the lines of her cheek.

"You've got nice cheeks," Link grinned. She shivered with delight at his touch, then grinned.

"Which ones?" Medli pushed on Link's chest with both hands.

"No way you're separating me from you, Medli," Link laughed, resisting her. He pushed her arms up, breaking her barrier. He picked her up suddenly and lifted her above his head.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, flailing.

"Wanna go for a dip?" Link held her over the water flying past.

"Hey, no, Link!" Medli's eyes widened and she shook her head. Link set her down in the boat.

"Maybe not today," Link shrugged. Medli pretended to pout but secretly had enjoyed it.

"I'm sorry," Link said slowly. Medli turned and shrugged.

"It's okay. I'll swim with you one of these days," she replied.

ooo

She awoke stiff, leaning against a wall in an alley. Her head was pounding. She groaned at the hangover and picked herself up. Her neck, back, and legs were incredibly stiff from the position she was in against the wall. She staggered down the alleyway and winced as sunlight stabbed her face. She covered her eyes with one hand and stumbled down the ramp to the beach. She thrust her face underwater and held her breath as the cool waves soothed her aching head. She laid back on the beach and moaned as her headache returned.

"Ugh! What the _fuck_ was I doing, going out drinking last night?" she yelled to no one. And, in turn, no one responded. She pounded the beach and sat up.

"Well...I guess I can wait for him one more day. But that's it. After today, I'm going somewhere else than this place to wait on Link!" she said forcefully. She got up and walked over to where her sailboat was docked. She hopped into it and pulled a fifty Rupee piece out of the safe. She pocketed the piece and walked into market. It was near noon, and she was hungry.

ooo

"Dad, I think I'm gonna go to Windfall for the summer market, okay?" he called to his father.

"Sure. Here, I'll get you some money, and you can buy yourself lunch and some trinkets there," his father said to him, walking away. He sighed. _Maybe this will take my mind off Medli..._ he thought. His father came back with an orange Rupee and a bag.

"Use this to carry what you buy, okay? See you later, lad," his father handed him the money and the bag.

"Thanks, dad. I'll be back later in the afternoon," he called. His father nodded and walked off. He walked out onto the beach, spread his wings, and flew west, catching a powerful thermal that came from Valoo's magic.

ooo

Medli sighed as she watched the sea go by.

"Isn't there any way we can get to Windfall faster?" she turned back to face Link where he was annotating his sea chart. Link looked up.

"Well...there was one way, but..." he began. He jumped up.

"There! I can ask _him_ about it!" Link pointed to a huge cyclone on the ocean.

"Link...that's a cyclone. You're crazy," Medli blinked. Link freed the tiller and aimed the prow of the boat right for the cyclone.

"Link..." a note of worry entered Medli's voice.

"Don't worry about it!" Link grinned confidently. They were swept into the powerful winds of the cyclone and brought to the top of it, where a pink, frog-like creature sat upon a cloud.

"Well, hello, little wind waker. How've you been?" Cyclos smiled, circling the boat.

"Fine, Cyclos. But...there's been a problem with your cyclone-transportation. For some reason, I haven't been able to command your cyclones ever since I defeated Ganondorf," Link said.

"Odd...I don't know why that would be," Cyclos frowned. "Perhaps you should visit the Wind Temple and talk to its Sage."

"Well, we're on our way there, so we'll give it a shot," Link said.

"Shall I give you a lift to Windfall, then?" Cyclos grinned.

"Sure!" Link said. He turned to Medli.

"Hey, Medli?" he said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Two words: Hang on," Link grinned, wrapping his arms around the mast. Medli followed his lead, and suddenly found out the wisdom in his words. The boat began spinning rapidly and shot forward as they rode a cyclone for Windfall Island.

ooo

"Well, that was an experience," Medli said as she leapt onto the beach from where they touched down.

"Like I said: You're getting all kinds of experiences hangin' with me," Link grinned.

"I'm never going to fly near cyclones _ever_ again," Medli muttered, shaking her head. Link threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side.

"Come on...you enjoyed it," he teased. She put her arm around his waist.

"Kind of. But don't get any ideas about fun dates in cyclones, Link," she pinched his hip. He winced at the pinch and mock-growled. They walked into the marketplace that was set up in Windfall.

"Oh, hey! The summer market!" Medli said. Link looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Windfall has a market set up every summer. It's a favorite place for Rito to hang out; I certainly liked it," she explained. They both whirled as they heard a voice shout, "_Medli!_"

"Who would-" Medli began. She let go of Link as she saw who it was.

"_Komali!_" she exclaimed, hugging her fellow Rito and student as he ran up to her.

"Wow, Medli, it's been so long since I've seen you! And, hey, Link!" Komali grinned, shaking Link's hand.

"Din's Pearl serving you well?" the prince asked.

"Yep. Definitely," Link bit his lip. Komali looked at the two of them.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked, curious. Link shrugged.

"We were going to go get Makar from the Wind Temple and then...uh...well, we were gonna figure that out when we got there," Link grinned. Komali nodded.

"How was the Earth Temple?" he asked Medli, interested. Medli decided to omit the parts about Link carrying her around and the kiss they had shared—that was personal.

"Well, it was certainly scary. I mean, there were Re-Deads and Bubbles and Floormasters," she looked at Link and winked, "everywhere. Plus the guardian of the temple was a gigantic Poe."

"Wow! Did you have to fight him, or did Link?" Komali asked. Link sighed.

"Your mentor saved my sorry tail," he interjected. Medli patted his back.

"We did it together," she said. He chuckled.

"Yeah...well, I wouldn't have thought of the whole light thing without you," Link said, "but whatever."

"So was Ganondorf tough?" Komali turned his attention to Link. Link took the Mirror Shield off his back and pointed to the dent on it.

"See for yourself. That was from one of his swords," he snorted. Komali took the Mirror Shield and admired the dent. He ran his finger along the fracture on the surface.

"Did he do that, too?" Komali asked.

"No, that was Zel—er, Tetra's arrow of light," Link replied. Komali nodded and handed Link the shield.

"Wow...but you must be pretty good to defeat the King of Evil," the prince said. Link sighed.

"I didn't get away unscathed, you know. But I was alive," Link pointed to his scar. Komali's eyes widened.

"He...he got you there?" the prince asked.

"And on my chest, too. But I'm still here, you see," Link grinned.

"Come on, let's get some lunch. I'll pay," Komali offered.

"Sure. Thanks, Komali," Medli smiled at her student and ruffled his hair. He smiled back at her.

"Any time, Medli," he said. She heard something catch in his voice as he said her name. There was something other than a friendly student's tone in it...

"Where shall we eat?" Link asked. Komali pointed to the seafood grill.

"How about there?" he led them over. Link took Medli's hand.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" he smiled. She leaned against him as they stood in line at the grill.

"Yep. Great day to be out," she sighed. Komali turned and almost screamed as he saw Medli leaning on Link with her eyes closed, a contented look on her face. _Medli...Link...no...no, no, no, NO!_ Komali screamed in his mind instead. He managed to cover his internal rage by turning away from them.

"What are you gonna get, Link?" Medli asked.

"I think the rockfish," he replied.

"I'm longing for some tuna...it's been forever," Medli shrugged.

"I think I could go for some tuna, too," Komali voiced his own order. He could barely contain his shaking and his anger. _How could she? Link? He's not even of our race!_ Komali thought bitterly. He ordered for the three of them and stalked off to get them a table. Link paid for drinks since Komali had left. He carried the tray of food and Medli took the two glasses of milk and Link's glass of fizzy Yellow Chu Jelly.

"You left before we could order drinks, so we assumed you wanted milk," Medli said cheerily.

"Sorry—I clean forgot," Komali covered. He ate his tuna hungrily and drank his milk quickly. Link grinned as he watched the boy-prince eat.

"Flying over here leaves you hungry, huh?" he said. Komali laughed.

"Yeah. I guess sailing is the lazy way out, huh?" his voice was tainted with bitterness that Komali couldn't remove no matter how hard he tried.

"You could say that," Link replied. There was something in his eye that caught Komali's attention. And at that moment, Komali realized that Link knew. Medli started to scold Komali about his table manners, but they were cut off by a shout.

"Link? Link!" a woman's voice called. Link turned and laughed.

"Tetra, wow! Sheesh, you look like crap!" he teased. Tetra blushed and then frowned.

"Nothing compared to what you _smell_ like! Where've you been?" she asked.

"All over the place. You know, your pirate crew's looking for you," Link said. Tetra shrugged.

"Yeah, well...they're a bunch of girly-men who don't know up from down," she sighed. She turned and noticed Medli and Komali.

"Oh, hey, you're the Sage of Earth! And you are...?" Tetra didn't recognize Komali.

"The prince of the Rito, Komali," Komali clarified. Tetra nodded.

"Well, I'm Tetra, the famed pirate!" she puffed her chest out. Link cuffed her on the back of the head.

"They don't need to hear your crap, Tetra," he sighed. Tetra rolled her eyes.

"Crap? It's not crap," she pushed Link playfully. Link shook his head and took his seat next to Medli. Tetra sat next to Komali, across from Link and Medli.

"So, how've you been, Tetra?" Link asked.

"Oh, you know. Traveling the islands, spreading the word," Tetra shrugged. _Thinking of you..._

"Find any new ones?" Medli asked, diverting Tetra's gaze from Link on purpose. _You may want him, but he's mine._ Tetra turned to Medli.

"Mmm...no, not any major ones," she replied. Something sparked between the girls.

"Well...Medli and I really should be going," Link said reluctantly, stretching. Medli nodded.

"Yeah...sorry, you guys. It was nice seeing you," Medli faked reluctance. _Leaving, and none too soon, _she thought, glancing at Tetra, who was trying to hide how she was fawning over Link. She shook Link's hand roughly.

"Guess it's goodbye. I'll see you, right?" she said hopefully. Link shrugged.

"Maybe. We'll probably run into each other," he said. Komali put a hand on Medli's shoulder. She turned and realized that he was taller than her by half a foot. She hadn't noticed because he was either sitting down, or she was focused on Link.

"You've really grown a lot since I left you last, Komali," Medli pointed out. He blushed.

"You've...you've changed a lot too," the prince replied. He smiled.

"You'll be around?" Komali asked. Medli nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, Link and I'll be sailing and all, but yeah, we'll stop by every now and then," she said. He hugged her.

"Be safe," Komali said softly before spreading his wings and flying off. Tetra had just finished hugging Link, as Medli saw. Link walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's go, Medli," he said softly. "I've said my goodbyes."

"Okay. Me, too," she murmured, putting her arm around his waist. They walked off, leaving Tetra standing in shock by the table.

"But...b-but..." she stammered. She unsheathed her dagger and plunged it into the table in pain-filled rage.

"How could he? I'm Zelda! I can't be denied!" Tetra growled. She pulled her dagger from the table and sprinted out to her ship.

"There's still time to catch him!"

ooo

Komali soared above Link and Medli as they set out from Windfall toward Gale Isle. He spat at Link, but missed, of course.

"How dare he? How dare he take _her?_ Of all the girls in the world, why _her?_" Komali screamed to the wind. He kept easy pace with the red sailboat as it sailed northwest to Gale Isle.

"Damn you, Link and damn you, Fate!" he yelled. Movement at the corner of his vision caused Komali to look back. A white sailboat was trailing Link's red boat. Komali didn't recognize this boat but turned his attention back to the red sailboat that was rapidly approaching Gale Isle.

ooo

"Here we are. That was pretty quick," Link remarked as the King of Red Lions coasted up to the shore of Gale Isle. He hopped out of the boat and helped Medli ashore.

"This was where Makar and I had our adventure before I came to the Earth Temple. This place was harrowing, I'll tell you. Peahats everywhere," Link shook his head as they entered through the cave mouth. Link dropped into the hole in the ground first; Medli followed quickly. They landed in the antechamber of the dungeon and passed through the door.

ooo

"Why would they be going here anyway?" Komali pondered as he touched down on Gale Isle. The white sailboat dropped anchor, and Komali turned to see...

"Tetra?" he called. The pirate glanced up.

"Komali? What are you...?" she narrowed her eyes.

"I was...following Link and Medli. What about you?" he asked her.

"Me too. Why are they coming here?" the pirate scratched her head as she made her way for the cave. Komali shrugged.

"I don't know, but I don't like it, for some reason," he replied.

"Is that because you've got it for Medli?" Tetra smirked. Komali whirled to face her.

"How did you..?" he began.

"Oh, please. It's so transparent," Tetra rolled her eyes.

"Like you for Link?" Komali jabbed. Tetra sighed.

"Yeah," she replied. They entered the Wind Temple and set off for Link and Medli.

ooo

Link held onto Medli's ankles as she flapped her wings furiously to steady herself in the powerful whirlwind that raged in the center of the main chamber. Soon enough, they reached the top and made for the former boss's chamber. They dropped into the second hole in the ground that day and fell thirty feet into a sand dune.

"Whuf!" Link and Medli gasped the same noise as they impacted on the dune and kicked up a huge cloud of sand that slowly found its way back to the ground.

"Still alive?" Medli groaned to Link, rolling over onto her back.

"I forgot how far down it was," Link grimaced. He sat up and stood slowly.

"Ugh...everything still works," he stretched. Medli picked herself up and shook the sand from her hair. At the center of the room was a slightly elevated platform with a Triforce insignia like that of the Earth Temple. Link ran over to the platform.

"Makar!" he cried. Medli ran over to where Link was cradling the Korok.

"Is he okay?" she asked worriedly. Link looked at her with anguished eyes.

"I don't know," he whispered, fright evident in his voice. Medli fished in her pocket and pulled out a bottle filled with Red Chu Jelly.

"Maybe give him a sip?" she suggested. Link took the bottle, uncorked it, and poured the solution into the apparent mouth of the Korok's leaf-mask. The little Makar sputtered and twitched.

"L-Link? Swordsman Link...!" the Korok's voice was weak.

"What's wrong, Makar?" Link asked desperately.

"Link...I'm sick...I've been...so far...Great Deku Tree...need...go home..." Makar gasped, shaking violently. Link turned to Medli.

"Take Makar to the boat. I'm going to see if there's something else wrong in this temple that's causing the sickness," he said. Medli nodded and took the shivering Korok from Link's arms.

"Be careful, Link," Medli whispered, kissing his cheek. Link smiled.

"You know there's nothing that can stop me," he said, running a finger along her cheek. Medli turned to the warp in the center of the room and stepped into it. She felt an unfamiliar sensation and was suddenly out on the beach in front of the King of Red Lions. There was a white sailboat anchored near the red one; Medli didn't recognize it.

"Hmm...the little forest creature is unwell," the King of Red Lions frowned, gazing at Makar.

"Yeah...do you know if there's anything we can do for him right now?" Medli asked the boat.

"Try feeding him some of that soup you have. He might just need nutrition," the King suggested. Medli shrugged and set the Korok down on the deck of the boat and spooned some soup out.

"Open wide, Makar," she said soothingly. Behind the mask, it was impossible to tell whether Makar had his mouth open, but Medli poured the soup into the mouth part of his mask. She heard him swallow.

"That soup is good!" Makar squeaked. He sat up.

"Mmmm! I want more!" the little Sage said eagerly. The King of Red Lions winked at Medli. The Rito Sage sighed and spooned more soup from the cauldron of soup. She fed it to Makar and the Korok smacked his lips.

"Mmmm...whose soup is this?" he asked.

"Link's grandmother's," Medli replied. Makar nodded, which involved shaking his whole body.

"Well, my compliments to her. Say...where's Link?" the Korok asked.

"He went to go searching for what was ailing you; shall we contact him?" Medli responded.

"Hmm. All I remember of it was a figure in black armor, and then suddenly I was really sick!" Makar said.

"Well...I'll get Link. Hold on..." Medli rummaged through the ship's compartment and grabbed the Gossip Stone. It pulsed, and Medli saw Link battling two giant moth larvae. His sword appeared to be glowing with fire...

"Link! Link, hello?" Medli called into the stone.

"Busy right now," he replied, striking one of the larvae. It burst into flame and shrieked. Link did the same to the other one, sheathed his weapon, and pulled out his Gossip Stone.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Makar was alright after all. Your grandmother's soup was all he needed. But his story is a little foreboding..." Medli trailed off.

"I'll be right there. Hang on," Link replied, pocketing the stone. Medli returned hers to its place in the ship's compartment and turned to where Makar sat in the King of Red Lions as he hailed her.

"So...how've you been?" Makar asked, waddling over to the side of the boat and hopping out. Medli shrugged.

"Alright, I guess. I mean, finding out you're a Sage is nothing easy, but I'll help Link in any way I can," she replied. Makar nodded and waddled over to her.

"Is he your boyfriend?" the Korok asked, nudging Medli's shin with his stubby arm. Medli nodded.

"Yeah...hey, how'd you know that?" she asked.

"I saw you kiss him. I was awake then, you know," the little Korok chuckled. Medli blushed.

"Well, that was a disaster," the two of them turned at the sounds of voices coming from the cave that led to the Wind Temple.

"How were we supposed to know about all the tricks of that dungeon?" another voice growled. Medli stuck her hands on her hips as she saw who the voices belonged to—Tetra and Komali.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked skeptically. Tetra and Komali froze.

"Um...we were curious as to why you were coming here," Tetra covered lamely. Link jogged out of the Wind Temple and stopped.

"Hey, why are you guys here?" he asked. Tetra and Komali turned to face Link, then Medli.

"Uh..." they said in synch. Link walked over to Medli and picked up Makar.

"Hey, bud! You look much better. I was worried about you, bud!" Link grinned, tossing the Korok into the air and catching him. Makar cheered as he flew into the air and came back down.

"Well, I was praying for your sword, Link, and then I heard someone enter the sanctum. I turned and then suddenly I blacked out. I woke up feeling awful and I saw a figure in black armor looking at me. He turned and left, and then I felt really, really sick!" Makar explained as Link tossed him up and down. Link finally set Makar down and turned to face Tetra and Komali, who were looking sheepish.

"Why'd you guys follow us here?" he asked.

"Well, we wanted...to know why you were coming here. Yeah, that's it," Komali replied. Tetra nodded in an attempt to add credibility to Komali's statement. Link gave them a skeptical look but shrugged.

"C'mon, Medli. If that 'figure' is anywhere on the map, it'll be the Forsaken Fortress," he said, walking to the King of Red Lions. Medli set Makar on her head and jogged after Link. The Korok gripped her ponytail as she leapt aboard Link's boat. She helped Link hoist the sail and haul anchor. Link conducted the winds, and they were off.

"I..." Tetra held up a hand as if she could stop Link.

"Too late, Tetra. Let's just go home," Komali sighed, making to fly off.

"No way, boy-prince. We're going to follow them," Tetra grinned, "and we've got a reason, now."

"Oh, come on," Komali rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, we can say that we were worried about their safety!" Tetra pounded her fist into her palm.

"Well...we'd better hurry, then," Komali sighed, stepping into her sailboat. They hoisted sail, hauled anchor, and set off after the red sailboat that was quickly disappearing.


	4. Chapter Three

Across the Ocean

By Dominus Princeps

_A.N., Hey, ya'll, you know I check my hits on my stories, and frankly, I've gotten far fewer reviews than I have had people check this story out. Now, if you honestly have nothing to tell me, you could at least say "nice job" because it makes the writing easier. And if you do have something to say, tell me so I can do a better job. Not stating your views is one of the problems with this country! (now I sound like somebody behind a podium). On with it._

**Chapter Three**

"Man, why are they always wearing black?" Link pondered airily as he sat against the side of his red sailboat. Medli, who was sitting across from him, rolled her eyes.

"I dunno. Tradition?" she replied, pushing on his feet with her own. Link pushed back on her feet.

"Doubt it. Must be something about black that villains like," he frowned.

"Well, maybe it's like night-time. You know, all dark and scary," Makar squeaked from his perch on top of the King of Red Lions' head.

"I like the night," Medli shook her head.

"...I don't," Makar said to himself. Link sighed and looked up at the sky. A pair of seagulls flew up overhead. Medli gazed up at the seagulls as well.

"Can you talk to them?" Link asked Medli. She shook her head.

"We may have wings and beaks, but we can't talk to birds," Medli shrugged. Link frowned and sighed.

"Man...it's evening already and we're not really close to the Forsaken Fortress..." he muttered. "There's the Northern Fairy Isle right there..."

"What'd you get there?" Medli asked, curious.

"My wallet was enlarged there, too," Link replied. Makar bounced down from the King of Red Lions' head.

"Hey, is it dinnertime yet?" the Korok asked eagerly.

"Sure. Let me get out the fish and soup and we'll have some...fish soup," Link chuckled. He and Medli pulled the cauldron of soup out along with the sack of salted fish.

"Don't mix any fish in my soup; I'm not carnivorous," Makar requested. "That soup is really delicious, though!"

"I agree," Medli smiled at the little Korok. She poured a bowl of soup for the little Sage and sprinkled fish that Link had cut with a small knife into her soup.

"Mmm...this soup is really good with the fish!" Medli remarked. Link grinned.

"I'm glad. I've always liked Grandma's soup," he winked at her. They finished their soup and Link washed the bowls in the sea as usual. Makar waddled over to the side of the boat and looked into the water.

"Wow...it's so pretty and blue. I thought the ocean was green..." he turned to Link for an answer.

"We're sailing the northern ocean, my friend. This has less salt and dirt in it than the other parts of the sea," Link explained.

"Really? How come?" Medli asked. Link shrugged.

"Beats me. But the water is fresher here; that I know," he said. Medli walked over to him and pressed herself against his back, encircling his waist with her arms. She rested her cheek against him and closed her eyes.

"Now what would Komali say?" Link teased. Medli snorted.

"To hell with what he would say. Hey, speaking of which, you and I need to have a talk about this whole thing," she said to Link, bringing her arms back to her sides. They went to the back of the boat near the tiller and sat down.

"We've gotten ourselves into quite a mess, huh? What with this whole fiasco between Komali and me and between you and Tetra...we gotta figure out how we're gonna break it to them that, well...we're rather self-involved," Medli said, taking Link's hand. Link nodded, to her relief.

"I agree. I mean, hey, I like Tetra a lot, and considering what we've been through, there's plenty reason for her to, you know, _like_ me. But she's my good friend who's saved my life; that's it," Link agreed, squeezing her hand. "And you're so much more to me."

"Oh, you're so sweet," Medli winked at him.

"Look! Link, look!" Makar squeaked. An eerie, wavy, white ship coasted on an intercepting course with the King of Red Lions.

"No way! I dispelled the Ghost Ship! And even if it were still around, there's no way it'd be around here!" Link gasped.

"There must be something terrible indeed in Forsaken Fortress, Link...you were right to head for it," Medli shivered as she gazed upon the ship. Link unlocked the tiller and turned sharply to the south. The ship followed Link's sudden change in course. Link made the King of Red Lions jump and then turned the tiller in midair. When the boat it, it turned a tight 180 and headed north. As they neared the Ghost Ship, Medli heard chanting.

"What is that?" she asked.

"G-g-g-ghost pirates!" Makar yelped, burying his face in Medli's leg. Link nodded.

"You got that right," he said, deep concentration evident in his tone. They turned to the northeast and barely got past the Ghost Ship. Link then turned east to catch the full wind.

"How did you dispel it?" Medli asked.

"I went aboard and got to the Triforce chart. Then, it was suddenly just gone, and I didn't see it in any of the places it usually haunted," he replied. Medli nodded and realized she was sweating. Link was, too. Makar still had his face planted in her leg.

"Is...is it gone?" he whimpered. Medli picked him up and cradled him in her arms like a child.

"It's okay, Makar, the Ghost Ship is gone now," she whispered. Makar let out a long sigh.

"Good. I don't like ghosts," he said.

"Man, I'm beat," Link yawned, "I'm gonna go to bed. You wanna be watch, Makar?"

"Sure! I don't need sleep like you guys do," the Korok replied.

"I'm tired, too...it's been a long day," Medli agreed with Link. He lay down in the deck of the ship near the tiller and looked at Medli.

"Hey, Medli? There're two pillows in the ship's compartment," he said.

"Sheesh, Link, you're prepared for _anything_," Medli grinned as she pulled the pillows out. She gave one to Link and set the other right beside him. She lay down next to him and rested an arm around his waist. He wrapped an arm around her neck. Sleep came quickly.

ooo

"Link! Medli! Link! Medli!" something was shrieking frantically. Medli shot up and hit her head on the tiller.

"Ouch! Makar, what is it?" she mumbled.

"There are ships everywhere and we're gonna get spotted! Stop the boat!" he squealed. Link was also up, now, and was pulling the sail down. Medli grabbed the anchor from the ship's compartment and hurriedly lowered it into the sea. By the time Link was finished folding the sail, the King of Red Lions had come to a halt.

"Damn...look at all of 'em..." Link gasped. Black ships with a strange, red double-axe insignia were cruising through the waters. Each had four cannons at least, from what Medli could see.

"Hey, Medli, do you think you could carry me to one of those boats? We'll take out its captain and then tow the King of Red Lions into the harbor," Link explained his plan. Medli judged the distance and nodded.

"We'll have to wait for the exact right time, okay?" she warned. Link winked and nodded. He picked her up and waited.

"You're strong enough to carry her, too?" Makar gasped. Medli turned to Link.

"Oh, Link, tell me you didn't carry him, too..." she sighed.

"Now!" Link cried. He leaped from the King of Red Lions as Medli spread her wings. She caught the powerful wind Link had stirred and beat her wings furiously. They neared a boat.

"We won't make it..." Link said.

"We _will_ make it!" Medli grunted, flapping her wings with all her might. They landed safely on the deck of one of the black ships. Medli collapsed onto the deck, panting heavily.

"Nice flying, Medli. You stay here; I'll take care of the crew," Link said. Medli nodded, exhausted and closed her eyes. She heard clanking footsteps and jumped up as adrenaline rushed throughout her body. This was no time to be tired; there was someone coming near her. Medli ran into the cabin so that she would be protected by Link.

"Medli, what are you doing in here?" Link growled as he saw her. His sword had changed again...it was glowing with yellow energy this time, and when it struck a Moblin, Medli saw a tendril of electricity snake from the sword and paralyze the Moblin. Link stabbed the Moblin that lay on the ground and faced the one that was making to cut his legs off with its glaive. Link jumped the sweep and performed a midair flip with his sword extended, slashing the Moblin down its face and chest. It fell back and burst into a puff of smoke.

"I'm here because of-" Medli turned and saw a large figure taking up the doorway, "him."

"Could that be...?" Link whispered. The figure stalked into the light. It was a Knight in black armor, a flowing red cape, a black shield, and a helmet with a red ridge.

"Well met, Link. Shall we dance the dance of blades?" the Knight taunted.

"It'll be your last night in the limelight, buddy," Link returned. Medli stood back so as not to be decapitated with a stray swing. Link circled the Knight, shield lowered. Medli thought about calling out to him to raise his shield, but thought the better of it. _He's the Hero of Winds; he knows what he's doing. I'm no warrior,_ she scolded herself. As was readily verified, Link _did_ know what he was doing. Medli watched as Link leaped over a horizontal slash and pulled the Knight's helmet off, teasing the warrior. The Knight growled and whirled to face Link, but Link had already circled around the back of the Knight. He cut at the belt holding the Knight's heavy armor on, and the armor fell off. The Knight, clad only in what appeared to be a loincloth, blushed and raised his shield.

"Not so tough without your clothes, eh, lord Knight?" Link grinned. He rolled to the side of a wild attack and came up with the uppercut slash Medli had seen so many times. The Knight fell to his knee, and Link slashed it with two vertical slashes, then leaped into the air with a lesser uppercut slash which finished the Knight. He fell over and then disappeared in a burst of purple smoke. Link picked up the Knight's crest and tucked it into a small, purple pouch on his belt.

"Nice work, Link. Do you think that could've been...?" Medli began.

"No way. That guy was just a normal Knight. Even if a high-ranking one, there's no way that _that_ was the guy we're looking for. Come on, let's go hijack this thing," Link replied. He ran off to where the wheel and various levers were located. Link turned the boat around and coasted over to where the King of Red Lions was parked. Link hopped off the ship and swam over to his own boat, where he hauled anchor, assured Makar that everything was okay, and then tied the King of Red Lions to the large, black cannon-boat. He clambered aboard the cannon-boat and went to where Medli was waiting.

"Let's go," Link said, sitting in the captain's chair.

"What time is it?" Medli asked. Link looked at the sky, then at a small dial next to his compass.

"Near two in the morning. We were asleep probably for six or seven hours, considering how early we went to bed," Link replied. Medli nodded.

"Okay. Just wondering. Link consulted his dial again and sighed.

"This thing always jams around here. Well...besides the fact that it seems like it's eternally night-time around here," he grumbled, maneuvering the cannon-boat around a rock outcropping. He sailed it into the harbor of the Forsaken Fortress and took Medli's hand.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yep," she replied.

"Good. Let's-" Link began.

"Going somewhere?" a sneering voice asked behind them. Link and Medli whirled to see what appeared to be a huge suit of incredibly heavy armor. The suit was carrying an even larger axe.

"We are indeed," Link growled, pulling his sword and shield off his back.

"You've got something I want: the Sages. Give them to me and I won't harm you or them," the voice came from the suit of armor.

"Good luck getting them!" Link snarled, circling the figure. He angled his shield at the blade of the axe as the figure wound back for a powerful swing, but the swing was a fake; Medli screamed as the butt of the axe's grip knocked Link's sword from his hand. The sword clattered to the ground near Medli's feet. She picked it up to give it to Link, but never got the chance. The next swing was the flat of the axe, which struck Link square in the chest. He sprawled limply on the floor of the ship. Medli ran over to Link and put the sword in her right hand. _I'll try to defend him...I can't let him die like this!_ Medli thought, facing the fearsome warrior in the heavy armor. In a feat of surprising speed, the warrior dashed over and caught her by the neck with the grip of his axe. He pushed her against the wall. Link's sword clattered to the ground as Medli put both hands on the axe's grip in an attempt to push it from her. She could barely breathe, and what little breath she could take came in short gasps.

"You're an intense one, Medli. I've seen your fire...but I never would have guessed that you and Link would come together like you have. Ah, well. You'll be my queen when I gain access to the Sacred Realm. But for now...sleep," the sinister voice grinned. He pushed the grip up, elevating Medli from the ground. _I can't breathe!_ She struggled and flailed with the strength only one dying has. The world blurred. She was choking. Her arms drooped, and her eyes rolled back into her head. The world was no more.

ooo

Medli awoke groggily, her vision blurry. She blinked several times to clear her eyesight and was greeted with a bleak room. Medli realized she was cuffed to an uncomfortable wooden table that was slightly slanted but mainly upright. She jerked her wrists and ankles, but they were firmly secure. She looked around and saw a Knight taking his armor off. He turned to her and grinned.

"Hello there, girl..." he walked over to her and gazed at her hungrily. Medli struggled against the cuffs.

"No use...they're iron. You can't get away..." the Knight smiled. He ran a hand along her cheek, down her neck, and along the curve of her body. His hand stopped at her bare thigh and began creeping up under her attendant's dress. Medli closed her eyes. _This is it...I'll be impure soil before Link even gets so far as to touch me..._ she thought, horrified. Suddenly, she felt something awaken inside her. As the Knight reached to cup one of her breasts, Medli's red eyes glowed eerily. And the first thing she thought of...

"No way!" Medli gasped as a piercing, ethereal shriek slashed through the air. The Knight froze, overcome with fear. A blue, wiry, earring-wearing zombie with terrifying red eyes stalked over to him and leaped onto his back, biting down hard on the Knight's neck. The Knight lost all color in his skin and crumpled to the ground. The Re-Dead sat back down and watched Medli intently, its eyes unlit. Medli willed it to come and free her. The Re-Dead picked up the Knight's key-ring and manipulated it methodically until it came to a key that fit. The zombie fit the key into one cuff and freed Medli's wrist, then handed the key-ring to her. Medli freed her other wrist and then her ankles. She kicked the dead Knight as a final touch and pocketed the key-ring.

"Come on, Re-Dead. Let's go find Link," Medli said. The Re-Dead somehow kept pace with Medli as she jogged through the corridors of the Forsaken Fortress; she had never seen a Re-Dead move so quickly. Medli peered around a corner and saw a Moblin patrolling the halls.

"Go get him! Go, go on!" Medli whispered to the Re-Dead. It pondered her for a few seconds before slowly marching toward the Moblin. Apparently, it only moved sluggishly when it was anticipating the kill...or whatever it did to its victims. Its trademark bloodcurdling scream filled the stale air, and another enemy fell to Medli's Re-Dead partner. Medli pumped her arm and jogged over to the Re-Dead.

"Good work," she smiled. The Re-Dead wavered, then disappeared.

"Well...I guess it isn't permanent...but having this ability sure is useful," Medli said to herself. "I guess that pirate was right about the zombie warrior summoning."

"Medli! Is that you?" a frightened squeak asked. Medli whirled.

"Makar? Where are you?" she asked. A pot on a shelf shook, then fell and shattered, revealing the shivering Korok.

"I tried to find you and Link, but I couldn't get past those Moblins! They stuck me in this jar, those meanies!" he pouted. Medli picked him up and set him on her head. He held onto her ponytail as she jogged down the corridor.

"I swore I heard somebody scream...who was that?" Makar asked confusedly.

"That was...eh, that was my Re-Dead that I summoned," Medli replied. Makar squeaked in fright.

"A R-R-Re-Dead? But those are evil zombies!" he said, surprised. Medli shrugged.

"Well, I can apparently summon them to my side. Weird, huh?" she replied. Makar sighed and pointed ahead.

"Hey, it's another cell block! I bet Link's in there!" the Korok squealed excitedly. Medli nodded.

"I bet you're right. Let's be careful...I'll summon a Re-Dead just to be safe," she said. She closed her eyes and focused on the features of the Re-Dead. At Makar's yelp of fright, Medli knew she was successful. Sure enough, when she opened her eyes, a Re-Dead was sitting in front of her, watching her with its black eye sockets. Medli called it to follow her and walked through the door to the cell block. There were some bent steel bars..._Link must've already busted out!_ Medli thought. She heard the sound of fighting and clashing blades. Then, the sounds ended. The Re-Dead walked ahead of her to scout what was going on. She heard a yelp of fright and saw the Re-Dead look down curiously at something.

"Gaaaah! Re-Dead!" Link's terrified voice carried around the corner. Medli ran around to greet him.

"Link, you're alive!" she cheered. Link looked from her to the resting Re-Dead next to her, which abruptly disappeared at her will.

"Uh...what was the Re-Dead all about?" he said as he got up from where he had been crab-walking backward away from the zombie.

"Well, apparently one of my powers as the Sage of Earth is the ability to summon Re-Deads. Cool, huh?" Medli smiled. Link let out a breath and scratched his tousled hair.

"Uh...I guess so," he replied shakily. Medli put a hand on his cheek.

"I was worried about you," she said softly. Link put an arm around her waist and drew her so she was pressed against his chest.

"And I you," he whispered, kissing her forehead. Makar pretended to gag.

"Ewwww! Mushy mushy!" he protested. Medli shook her head and dislodged the Korok.

"There, that's better," she smiled at Link. He smiled back and turned to the door behind him.

"We need to get moving. I've gotta find my sword," Link said. Medli nodded.

"Hey, I saw a Bokoblin carrying your sword off to the tower, Link!" Makar said, happiness to be of help to Link evident in his voice.

"Well...let's go then. Between my remaining weapons and your zombie armada, we're unstoppable!" Link pounded his fist into his palm. He took Medli's hand and, after Makar had climbed up Medli's ponytail, they ran through the door into the next hall. Two Moblins noticed them and charged the pair. Link pulled out his Skull Hammer and Medli called a Re-Dead. After a few smacks from the hammer and a chilling scream, the Moblins were down for the count. Link eyed a glaive but left it and led the way to the next door. The Re-Dead disappeared behind them. They entered an open-air hall with a ramp. Link led Medli up the ramp and pointed to the tower that was barely thirty feet from them.

"Do you think you could carry me that far?" he asked. Medli nodded.

"Sure. You know the drill..." she grinned, crouching. Makar held on tight as Link jumped and Medli spread her wings. In a flurry of wingbeats, Medli touched down on a balcony. Makar breathed a sigh of relief.

"We made it!" he cheered. Medli huffed; Link chuckled and took her hand.

"Come on; I need my sword back. Man, what's with this fortress and me not having a decent weapon?" Link grumbled. Medli shrugged and squeezed his hand.

"Even without a sword, you're still better than all these guys," she smiled. Link grinned and sighed.

"Even so, it'd make me feel better if I had a blade in my hand. You know, after keeping one around for two years, it's just force of habit," he said. Medli carried Link and Makar over another few gaps until they reached a set of stairs that led up to a balcony with a pair of huge wooden doors. Standing on the balcony was a Knight in red armor. He had a shield and the trademark serrated broadsword. The Knight took a ready stance and circled Link. Link let go of Medli's hand and pulled out his Skull Hammer and held it in a defensive position. The Knight swung at Link, but Link deflected the blow off the Skull Hammer's grip. He struck at the Knight, but the Hammer glanced off the Knight's armor.

"Damn...I need a sword!" Link growled. Medli pondered summoning a Re-Dead but thought the better of it. While powerful (and frightening), Re-Deads weren't any good against anything in heavy armor. Medli sighed, then had an idea. Maybe Re-Deads weren't it...she thought of the Stalfos warriors with the heavy maces..._Come on, let's go!_ Medli concentrated hard on the skeletal berserkers.

"Hey, what the heck?" Link's voice told her everything she needed to know. Medli opened her eyes and grinned. The eight-foot-tall, mace-wielding skeleton warrior was currently valiantly battling the Knight, who was so surprised that he could barely keep up with the Stalfos' vicious mace blows. The spiky club was denting the Knight's armor in many places. The Knight attempted to attack the Stalfos with his blade, but received a wild blow to the wrist. Medli heard a sickening crack and realized that the Stalfos had broken the Knight's wrist. His sword clattered to the ground. Link dove for the weapon and picked it up. It looked a little out of place in his hands, but Link put it to good use. The Knight, who was clutching his wrist in agony, couldn't keep up with fending off two assaults and focused on the Stalfos, who was a more immediate threat. _Wrong idea, buddy..._ Medli grinned. Link cut the Knight's armor off, then stabbed the broadsword through the now armor-less Knight. The Knight choked as blood poured from his mouth, then fell over. Link dusted his hands off and turned an amused eye to Medli.

"Nice Stalfos warrior, babe," he grinned. The Stalfos struck a mock salute with its mace and disappeared.

"I didn't know I had it in me until recently," Medli smirked. "Nice work with that sword."

"Well...I've had experience with that weapon, seeing as I've fought countless Knights," Link shrugged. He turned to the door, then to where Makar was hanging on Medli's ponytail.

"You're sure you saw them taking my sword in here?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm! I'm sure I saw it!" Makar nodded. Medli sighed, uneasy about the menacing doors.

"Well...into the lions' den, huh?" she chuckled weakly. Link nodded.

"Guess so," he said, his features statue-like. Medli took his hand; she was frightened of what might be on the other side. _Give me strength, Link...Nayru knows I need it from you._

"Whatever's on the other side, Medli...we can take it, you and me," Link smiled slightly, as if reading her thoughts. Medli nodded and kissed his cheek. Link pushed the door open, and he and Medli walked into the center of the room. In a cage were Tetra and Komali.

"I can't believe you followed us _here_, too! Does your father even know where you are?" Medli scolded Komali. Komali looked down, embarrassed.

"It was her idea..." he pointed to Tetra.

"_You_ didn't have to come!" she shot back.

"Quiet, both of you. Did you guys see any Bokoblins with a sword come past?" Link asked.

"You mean the little Moblins, right? Yeah, two of 'em came past with a package; it was the right size to be a sword," Tetra replied. Medli called a Stalfos.

"Stand back; he'll bust that cage open," she instructed. In awe of her power, Tetra and Komali obeyed silently. The Stalfos wound up and struck the door with its mace. The metal shrieked as it twisted horribly from the blow. The Stalfos took another swing and knocked the door in. It disappeared as Medli dismissed it.

"Wow, you're a necromancer?" Komali gasped, walking out of his prison. Medli shrugged.

"Not quite. She can only summon creatures from her temple, which would be Floormasters, Red and Blue Bubbles, Stalfos, Re-Deads, and Poes," Tetra answered the question instead. Link grinned.

"Cool. You should summon some Floormasters and make quick work of any enemies we meet. Plus you could toss yourself and get some extra speed for flight," he suggested. Medli nodded.

"You're right. Floormasters are adept at throwing things," she shivered, remembering wandering around in curse-fog with Link and being struck with pots and skulls that were apparently being thrown from nowhere.

"Hey, come on, we've gotta get Link's sword!" Makar urged. Link nodded and ran ahead up the huge wooden ramp. Medli followed close after, then came Komali and Tetra. Komali spread his wings, grabbed Tetra, and flew her up to the top.

"Showoff," Medli shook her head. Link grinned at her.

"He's so trying to impress you, Medli," he smirked. Medli sighed and continued jogging up the ramp.

"Man, how long is this thing?" she groaned.

"Not too long. The last time I came up this ramp, I was under attack by a gigantic buzzard. At least that's not happening right now," Link chuckled. Finally, they reached the top. Link hoisted himself up out of the tower and helped Medli up. Makar pointed.

"Look!" he squealed. Link's sword was lying on the ground. Link ran over to it.

"No, Link, it's a trap!" Tetra cried. But it was too late. A ring of fire rose around Link as he picked up his sword.

"Damn! I should've used the Hookshot!" he growled. The remaining four turned to face down a hulking figure in white armor similar to the armor of the man who had captured Link and Medli.

"Heh heh...you guys'll never get to the Black Knuckle...I'll kill you first!" the figure in the white armor snickered.

"It's an Iron Knuckle! I thought they were just legends!" Tetra gasped, eyeing the armor and oversized axe. The Iron Knuckle swung his axe to make a point and advanced on them. Medli called a Stalfos warrior to their side.

"Anything we can get, right?" she said aloud. Tetra and Komali ignored her._ Why are they such jerks?_ Medli thought to herself, irritated. The Stalfos hung back to guard its master, but Medli sent it into the fray. It lurched forward at the Iron Knuckle, wound back its mace, and began swinging it around wildly. With a single strike, the Iron Knuckle knocked the top half of the Stalfos off its bottom half and sent it hurtling over the edge of the tower.

"Uh...that could be a problem," Medli gulped. Tetra ducked a powerful swing of the white Iron Knuckle's axe and jumped onto the armored warrior's back. He tried to pry the girl off, but his armor was not flexible enough to allow him to reach her. Tetra unsheathed her dagger and stabbed it into the Iron Knuckle's neck armor. Instead of piercing the neck and killing the Knuckle, as planned, Tetra's dagger shattered. In the split second it took Tetra to realize how ineffective her attack was, the Iron Knuckle had reached up and pulled her off its neck. It tossed her into the air and swung the flat of its axe into her chest. Tetra cried out in pain and skidded across the tower.

"Medli, catch!" Link yelled, tossing his sword to Medli.

"What do you want me to do with _this?_" Medli held the sword awkwardly.

"Try what Tetra did; _this_ sword won't break on simple armor," Link encouraged, pounding his fist into his palm. "You can do it."

"O-okay, I'll try," Medli said uneasily. In truth, Medli wasn't even sure she could get near the Iron Knuckle without being decapitated, but it was worth a shot. She advanced on the Knuckle, which was currently swinging his huge axe at Komali, who had taken to the air to avoid being cut in two.

"Hey, you! The ugly one! Leave him alone!" Medli called, holding Link's sword with two hands. The white-armored Knuckle turned to Medli.

"What have we here, little girl? Two little Sages, eager to die...well, the Black Knuckle needs you alive, but he never said I couldn't hurt you..." the Knuckle said maliciously. He advanced on Medli, who backed up cautiously.

"Medli...I have an idea. I'll summon a Floormaster to hold him in place, and you stab him, okay?" Makar suggested. Medli shrugged.

"Sure. But, wait—how can you summon a Floormaster?" she asked. Makar seemed to grin.

"Well, if you can, I should be able to, right? They're in _my_ temple, too, you know," the Korok said confidently. Medli sighed and shook her head.

"Give it a shot, then," she said, "but you've gotta concentrate to bring it here."

"I know; I've watched you do it," Makar said. She circled around the Iron Knuckle and screamed as it swung its axe at her. The flat of the axe never connected, though. Restraining the grip of the axe was a blurry, purple-black hand connected to a thin arm that ran from a pitch-black hole.

"Good work, Makar!" Medli cheered. She ran up, ducked under the Iron Knuckle's axe and ran around to his back. By this time, the Iron Knuckle had wrenched his axe from the Floormaster's grip. But it was too late. Medli sat on his shoulders, reared back, and plunged the sword into the neck armor of the Iron Knuckle. Something glowed in the sword, and suddenly electricity was flowing from the sword into the Iron Knuckle. It felt like a mild static shock to Medli, but she decided that that was because she was holding the sword; the Iron Knuckle obviously found it far more painful. He dropped his axe from the pain. Medli jumped off his shoulders and watched the spectacle unfold.

"His armor is amplifying the shock," Komali said in wonder. Suddenly, with a loud crash, several layers of armor fell from the Iron Knuckle. He picked up his axe and turned to Medli.

"You're _mine!_" he roared, sprinting at her with amazing speed. Medli screamed and ran from him.

"Medli, use the sword! Its shock is medium-range!" Link called from his fire-prison. Medli turned and stabbed the sword out. A tendril of electricity snaked from the sword and struck the Iron Knuckle, paralyzing him. Suddenly, his helmet flew off, revealing a tanned face with war-paint on it.

"What the...?" Medli frowned. She gasped as she saw what had caused it. The Stalfos she had summoned had reformed itself unexpectedly (as Medli recalled that Stalfos warriors enjoyed) and was now on the offensive again. It struck the Iron Knuckle furiously, apparently lusting for revenge for being split in two. Its powerful, wild, and undoubtedly vicious blows dented and split the Iron Knuckle's armor and caused it to stumble. In a quick sweep swing, the Stalfos knocked the Iron Knuckle to its knees. With its enemy's head clearly vulnerable, the Stalfos took the opportunity and brought a quick, decisive mace smash on the Iron Knuckle's head. Medli turned away from the brutal blow. She heard the Iron Knuckle burst into the familiar purple smoke and dismissed her Stalfos warrior. Link's ring of fire disappeared, and he ran over to Medli.

"That Stalfos is sweet!" he cheered. Medli handed him his sword.

"Here. You're a lot better with it than I am," she sighed. Link ran his hand through her hair.

"Well...I trained under a great swordsman. Besides, you're not of a warrior race," he said. He kissed her forehead.

"Nice save, anyway," Link grinned, "I totally didn't expect the Stalfos to regenerate."

"That makes two of us," Medli snorted. Makar cheered.

"I'm a summoner, too! Didja see my Floormaster?" he squeaked.

"Yeah, that was a cool Floormaster, Makar!" Link patted the Korok from where he was hanging onto Medli's ponytail doggedly.

"Saved my life," Medli reached back to pat Makar.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Komali said as he landed in front of the trio.

"Let's check on Tetra," Link suggested. Medli nodded, and the three of them ran over to Tetra's side. Komali stood back where he had landed and watched Medli. _If she won't be mine, I'll _make_ her mine!_

"Tetra...Tetra?" Link whispered. Tetra's eyes fluttered open.

"Uhhh...I feel like crap..." she groaned, sitting up. Medli pulled out a bottle of Red Potion.

"Here, take a sip for a quick fix," she offered. Tetra uncorked the bottle and sipped twice from the bottle.

"Ah...much better. Thanks, Medli," Tetra grinned. She picked herself up and stretched.

"Well? Shall we go?" the pirate grinned.

"Yeah...we got unfinished business with this 'Black Knuckle' guy," Link said, stony-faced. Medli took his hand, and they walked up the stone ramp where the white-armored Knuckle had come from. Tetra watched them and sighed. _Oh, Link...I can't believe I lost my heart to you..._

"Come on, Tetra. The lovebirds are too far ahead of us," Komali said bitterly. He jogged up the ramp after Link, Medli, and Makar. Tetra shook her head and ran up. Link let go of Medli's hand to unsheathe his sword and fit his shield on his arm. Medli pushed the door open and blinked as it fell down. They walked into the scorched remains of what had been Ganondorf's personal room in the Forsaken Fortress. They were greeted by the black-armored Iron Knuckle Link had fought earlier.

"Well, well...you took out the White Knuckle. I'm not surprised; he was headstrong, and you're a seasoned warrior, young Link. And Medli, you've found your summoning powers! You will be a most worthy queen," the Black Knuckle said. Link bent his knees in a ready stance.

"She won't be _your_ queen, you rotten bastard! Let's finish this!" Link growled. The Black Knuckle chuckled, a sound that was eerily familiar to Tetra. Medli put a hand on Link's shoulder as he stared the Black Knuckle down.

"Be careful," she whispered. Link turned to her with a tender look in his eyes, then faced the Black Knuckle. His sword sparked with electricity. Link advanced on the Black Knuckle, who as of yet had done nothing. He hadn't even turned to face Link. Link raised his sword and swung it at the Knuckle's back. The harsh ring of metal on metal sounded, and Tetra gaped as she saw what was blocking Link's blade. One of Ganondorf's swords...!

ooo

_A.N., As to Medli's and Makar's powers, I figured if they're the two Sages, then they might as well have some sweet powers other than the ability to soup up the Master Sword. Any suggestions for further powers for the Sages are welcome!_


	5. Chapter Four

Across the Ocean

By Dominus Princeps

**Chapter Four**

"No way! I sealed Ganondorf!" Link stammered, stepping back a few paces.

"You did indeed...but you overlooked one of his swords. After many long, hard submarine trips, I found it...and now it has given me all the power I'll need to rule this world...but I want the next, too! The Sacred Realm!" the Black Knuckle cackled. The Prism Sword flashed an indignant red.

"Not if I can help it!" Link growled. He leapt at the Black Knuckle but was forced to retreat as the Black Knuckle turned and attacked. Though he had only one of Ganondorf's swords, he was still fearsome and deadly. Link countered an attack with a jump and a flip-slash. Magma flowed from the Prism Sword and coated the Black Knuckle. The warrior made a puzzled noise and then cried out as the lava seeped into his armor. It hardened quickly, and the Black Knuckle was unable to move.

"Nice trick, Link. How'd you do it?" Tetra raised an eyebrow. Link looked at the Prism Sword and shrugged.

"This is definitely the weirdest sword I've ever seen," he muttered. Link tried to wrench Ganon's sword from the Black Knuckle's grip, but even immobile, the Black Knuckle wouldn't let go.

"Makar, send a Floormaster to give me a..._hand_," Link grinned. Everyone groaned at his pun, but Makar summoned the familiar black hole, which slid over to Link's side. The Floormaster arced from his hole and gripped the blade of the sword while Link grabbed the handguard. Together they yanked the saber from the Black Knuckle.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Link said, grabbing Medli's hand. Everyone sprinted for the stone ramp save Komali. Tetra turned to Komali as she left.

"Well, aren't you coming?" she yelled. Komali shook his head as if dazed.

"Sorry. Yeah, let's go!" he said.

"Remind me why we're running away?" Medli asked Link as they dashed down a flight of stairs.

"I know he's way too powerful for me to fight, but I bet if we seal this sword, he'll be just like the White Knuckle: tough, but not invincible," Link replied.

"But why are we running?" Medli pressed. The tower shook with a roar as the Black Knuckle broke free of his rock prison.

"...That's why," Link winced. They knocked a door open and dashed past a surprised Moblin guard. Tetra flip-kicked the guard to move him from her way and sprinted to catch up with Link and Medli.

"So how do you plan on sealing the saber if Hyrule's beneath the waves?" the pirate asked.

"Well...we'll ask the King of Red Lions that; he's an expert on this sort of thing," Link replied. Tetra sighed and pointed.

"It's another Iron Knuckle!" she cried as the heavily-armored warrior clanked around the corner, axe at the ready. Link unsheathed his sword and circled the fearsome Knuckle. It was wearing gold and red armor, and had a red axe. It wound back and swung its axe in a powerful horizontal arc. Link leaped over the axe and stabbed his sword into the Iron Knuckle's helmet. The helmet split, and electricity coursed through the warrior. Link lopped his head off as a finish.

"I thought it made lava..." Tetra frowned.

"It changes every now and then. It shot fire in the Wind Temple," Link shrugged. They continued their run.

"Hey, where's the other Rito?" Makar asked, looking around from his perch on Medli's ponytail.

"He probably flew off, leaving us," Medli glowered as Link kicked a door open.

"No time to worry about that; there's the harbor!" he pointed. The King of Red Lions and Tetra's white sailboat were docked neatly side by side. Link and Medli leaped into the King of Red Lions and quickly hoisted sail. Tetra did the same, and the two boats shot out of the harbor.

"You won't get away so easy!" a booming voice roared. Medli turned and screamed. A huge, cannon-riddled black ship was bearing down on them. Bombs churned the water all around them. Link left the tiller and took out the Wind Waker.

"Tetra, hold onto your mast!" he called. Tetra gazed at him and gripped the mast of her boat. Medli did the same to the mast of the King of Red Lions, and Makar held on tightly to Medli's shin. Link swept the baton down, right, left and then up. The wind around them became wild and powerful. They were swept up into a cyclone.

"Link! What did I say about cyclones?" Medli yelled over the wind. Link grinned at her as he wrapped his arms around the mast and, because she was pressed against the mast, her.

"Don't worry! I know what I'm doing!" he winked. Medli looked to her right and saw Tetra's boat whirling next to theirs. A few minutes later, they were set down gently in front of a huge tower...Medli recognized it as the Tower of the Gods.

"Why are we here?" she asked.

"This is how we'll get to Hyrule. Hey, King of Red Lions!" Link got the boat's attention.

"Yes, Link?" it/he asked.

"There was an Iron Knuckle called the Black Knuckle that had one of Ganondorf's swords. I have the sword now, but how can we seal it and thus seal his power?" Link asked. The King of Red Lions sighed.

"That is very troubling news to hear. Unfortunately, I already sealed Hyrule beneath the waves...to seal this last bit of evil magic, I fear you'll have to open the Sacred Realm. And to do so, we'll need the other two Sages plus Princess Zelda," the boat eyed Tetra before adding, "And the two Medallions."

"Two more Sages? And what are these Medallions?" Link asked.

"Yes. You'll need the Sage of Water and the Sage of Shadow. Zelda herself is the Sage of Light," the boat replied. "As for the Medallions, I do not know. They are gifts of the gods, but I am unaware of their locations."

"Hmm. Sages of Water and Shadow, huh?" Tetra frowned, thinking. She raised her finger.

"Hey, let's go find my crew and the pirate ship so we can check my books on this subject!" she suggested. Link shrugged.

"Sure. Let's go; they said they were headed south-southwest," Link said.

"Well, then they're going for one of our old hangouts. It's an island that's not on any of the charts, and we intend to keep it that way. Here, take us to Outset and I'll show you the way from there," Tetra instructed. Link conducted the cyclone again and took them to Outset Island.

"Make the wind go southwest," Tetra instructed. Link conducted the wind and followed Tetra as she sailed southwest. Medli sighed and leaned over the side of the boat, dipping her fingers in the water as they sailed after Tetra. Link came over and put his hands on her back, pressing slightly. Medli shrieked, whipping up. Link was laughing as she growled at him.

"You almost pushed me in!" Medli said. She then let out a sigh and chuckled.

"Okay...so it was a little funny, but still..." she sighed. Link cupped her cheek.

"Atta girl," he grinned. They sailed on after Tetra. Link checked his clock.

"It's like four in the morning, but I'm not tired at all," he muttered. Medli nodded. Link sat on the side of the boat near the tiller, and Medli stood next to him. Link put his arm around her waist and rested his head on her hip. Makar was sitting on the King of Red Lions' head, watching the sea fly by. Link stood up suddenly.

"What's up, Link?" Medli asked. Link narrowed his eyes and ran a hand through his tousled blond hair.

"I don't know...something just doesn't feel right," he frowned. He looked up.

"Hey, look! Is that Komali?" Link pointed at a figure in the sky. Medli squinted to try and see better.

"I can't tell...hey, it's gone!" she exclaimed. True enough, the winged figure had disappeared.

"Weird..." Link sighed. He turned to Medli.

"Hey, would you mind telling me how you found your summoning powers?" he smiled. Medli blushed and scuffed her feet.

"It's kind of..." she began. Link had a curious expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Well...it happened because a Knight was about to...ah...you know, take me," Medli said quietly. Link blinked, then a look of comprehension washed over his face.

"Oh, Farore, Medli, I'm so sorry," he pulled her in a tight, warm hug. Medli sighed and closed her eyes.

"You're nice and comfortable," she smiled as she rested herself against him. Link kissed her hair.

"I'm glad," he responded. She opened her eyes and looked up at him to find him watching her intently. Tentatively, Link kissed her. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. Link pulled back to look in her eyes. Her red eyes met his blue ones. Then, he kissed her hard, pushing her up against the mast. Medli moaned into his mouth as the feeling rushed through her body. Her hands gripped his head, his shoulders, anywhere they could find as they roved his body. Link held her at her waist, lifting her from the deck of the boat slightly. Medli gasped as he parted from her mouth, taking breath for the first time in a while. He bent to kiss her neck, and she sighed as his soft lips caressed her neck and collarbone. She played with his messy hair as he kissed her up and down her neck. She pulled his head up and kissed him furiously, pressing her hands to his cheeks. Link's hands stroked her sides as he returned the passion.

"Hoy! There it is!" Tetra shouted back from her boat. Surprised, Medli pulled back and hit her head against the mast.

"Ow!" she winced. Then, she and Link shared a laugh.

"Ow, that hurt!" Medli chuckled. Link set her down on the deck and kissed her as a last thought. Medli smiled dreamily at him as he ran his fingers through her hair. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Link turned to the sea ahead of them. A few hundred leagues ahead was an island with a tower-like mountain on it. Tetra had stopped, and Link and Medli unhooked and folded the sail before cruising to a stop next to Tetra.

"Why are we stopping?" he asked. Tetra turned.

"There are whirlpools all over the place just beneath the surface of the ocean. That's why we pirates like this island: it's protected. However, the whirlpools all just go away at a password...but I forgot the password," the pirate scratched her head and blushed. Medli shook her head. _For a pirate, she's a little soft..._ she thought. Link groaned.

"Tetra! Why are you always like this about important stuff?" he sighed. Tetra jumped.

"I remember! Hylia!" she shouted. Medli heard something stir, then heard a rumble, then nothing.

"Come on, let's go! I think I see the ship!" Tetra said, hoisting sail. Link did the same and set out for the island. They sailed around the coast and came upon a hidden, natural harbor, where the hulking pirate ship was docked.

"Miss Tetra!" a collective cheer was raised from the crew.

"We missed you, Captain!" Gonzo cried.

"Get in line, ladies! What are you talking about, missed me? You're pirates, not little children whose mother has left for the day!" Tetra snapped, climbing up the rope ladder and pulling herself onto the deck.

"If this is how you've been acting the whole time I've been gone, then you're a sorry bunch who only deserve to be shark bait!" she snarled at the crew. Then, she broke into a grin.

"It _is_ nice to be back, though," Tetra smirked, crossing her arms. Her crew let out a collective sigh. Link dropped anchor, and he, Medli, and Makar hopped out of the King of Red Lions and climbed up the rope ladder to the deck (Medli used the ladder instead of flying because Makar was still unsure of Medli's ability to fly). Link nudged Tetra.

"C'mon, let's check your books," he urged. "This is pretty important."

"Right," Tetra nodded. Medli followed the two into Tetra's cabin. The pirate rummaged through a bookshelf full of old books; Link helped her. Medli looked around the cabin. It was well furnished, with a nice bed and an ornate desk. An engraving of the Hero of Time was set above Tetra's desk. Medli peered at the desk. There were pictographs of all kinds of things, from ChuChus to islands. There was one pictograph of Link and Tetra on Outset, apparently having lunch. _They're so young..._ Medli grinned.

"When was this taken?" she asked, curious. Tetra glanced up and blushed.

"Um...that was way back when Link was just starting out. See, he still has the Hero's Sword and his dinky old coat of arms shield," Tetra pointed. She grinned.

"He was so innocent," she snorted.

"Was not!" Link growled.

"You were, what, fifteen and a half?" Tetra asked.

"Exactly fifteen. That was my birthday," Link sighed.

"I was only eighteen then. Wow, time flies," the pirate shook her head. Link cuffed her.

"Don't get soft on me, Tetra," he grinned. Medli watched them and knew that Link was clearly trying to stop Tetra's advances on him. Link pulled a book from the shelf.

"Uh...'The Sages of Hyrule'. This should help," he set the book on Tetra's desk. Medli examined it and opened to the first page. A map was printed on the page. It had the names of areas that Medli didn't recognize: Death Mountain, Kokiri Forest...Lake Hylia. _Wait—wasn't Hylia the word that Tetra yelled for the password?_ Medli thought, curiosity piqued. Tetra slapped another book to the desk, and then another.

"I think that's all of them," Link said after five more minutes of searching.

"Well, then, we'll each look through a book," Tetra suggested. "Look for the Two Medallions and anything on the Sages of Water and Shadow."

"What about Zelda?" Medli asked. Link and Tetra grinned at each other, then turned to Medli.

"Seeing as you and Makar are Sages, I guess it's okay to tell you. Uh...how can I say this?" Link began.

"_I'm_ Zelda," Tetra smirked. Medli blinked.

"You're joking," she said skeptically. Link shook his head.

"Nope. It is one-hundred percent the truth. I mean, yeah, she is an ugly ninja pirate, but deep down she's a good person," he jabbed. Tetra grinned and shoved him. Link fell back onto her bed and laughed. He stood and picked up one of the three books: "The Magical Temples of Hyrule." Tetra took the remaining one: "The Sacred Realm and Its Contents." Medli perused the book she had picked up off Tetra's desk. She checked the table of contents for anything on the Sages of Water and Shadow. She found the section on the Sage of Water.

"Hey, I found the Sage of Water!" Medli said.

"Read it," Link instructed.

"'The Water Temple at the bottom of Lake Hylia is the traditional worship center for the Sage of Water. The Sage of Water is often seen playing a guitar; perhaps it holds special power. The Sage does not disclose this. The Sage of Water seems to have the ability to summon sharks, Blue Tektites, Spikes, and can make a strange doppelganger of any subject he is presented with. The Sage is often characterized as "quirky", and has a unique, if that is the word, sense of humor. The seal of the Sage is...' There's a page missing..." Medli looked up from the book.

"Is there anything else?" Tetra asked. Medli flipped through the pages.

"No. From there, it's about the Sage of Wind," she shook her head.

"It's got the Sage of Shadow too," Medli said.

"Well, read it too, then," Link hit her leg playfully.

"'The Sage of Shadow is often reclusive and does not like making public appearances. His temple is the Temple of Shadow, located in the Graveyard of...Ka-ka-ri-ko Village,'" Medli stumbled over the unfamiliar words, "'He does not use an instrument; instead, he appears to prefer whistling or singing. The Sage of Shadow does not appear to be able to summon monsters, but instead has stranger powers of illusion and resurrection of dead things. His seal is that of an eye with triangular eyebrows, more commonly seen as the seal of Truth that is stamped on official documents. The Sage of Shadow is often referred to as the "Dark Sage" because of his unknown activities, frightening powers, and utterly terrifying dungeon. However, while the Shadow Temple is a terrible and fearful place, it is because the whole of Hyrule is a fearful place, and its fear and horror are concentrated in the Shadow Temple and in the Sage of Shadow in order to keep Hyrule a joyful land. In short, the Sage of Shadow is nearly always pale, gaunt, and haggard from supporting the weight of Hyrule's sins on his shoulders."

"Wow...that's pretty, uh..." Tetra tried to say something, but the words of the book had silenced her. Medli shut the book.

"And that's it. You guys found anything?" she asked.

"Not so far, but I'll tell you when I do," Link replied. Tetra nodded, and the two of them dove into their books again. Medli sat down on the bed next to Link and played with his hair. Link looked at her with an amused expression, then turned back to his book. She twisted his messy blond hair, tugged it, and sculpted it, but it never quite did what she wanted. Frustrated, Medli gave up and lay back on the bed. She picked up Makar and tossed him up and down. The Korok cheered and made generally pleased noises as Medli threw him into the air and caught him over and over. She grew tired of this and got up and left.

"Call me in when you get something, okay?" Medli sighed, walking from the cabin out onto the deck of the ship. She leaned against the rail of the ship and watched the sunrise out in the east. She felt a presence behind her and whirled...then screamed.

"What's wrong, Medli?" Komali asked.

"You surprised me, Komali," Medli gasped, putting a hand on her heart. Komali snorted.

"So did you, Medli. So did you..." he sighed. She cocked her head.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Komali narrowed his eyes.

"You're so beautiful...I thought...when you and I went through Dragon Roost Cavern, I thought there was something...and then when you hugged me when I gave you that Golden Feather...I waited for so long to see you after I saw Link leave with you...and then this. How could you, Medli?" Komali growled, stepping forward. Medli stepped back and backed against the rail.

"Wh-what are you talking about? Komali, you're a good friend of mine, probably my best friend, but why are you acting like this?" she stammered, frightened of the wrathful prince.

"This whole thing! Link isn't even of our race! And you run off with him like a silly girl! You, with your powers, should marry one of royal descent!" Komali snarled. This time, it was Medli's turn to glare.

"How dare you? I am two years your senior and also your mentor. Without my help you never would have your proud wings and beak, and I am the Sage of Earth and thus deserving of your respect. You can't tell _me_ whom I should marry, and you certainly shouldn't judge Link by his race!" Medli growled. Komali chuckled and shook his head.

"Medli...he's cast some kind of spell on you, that Link. I didn't think you'd be so deluded. But I guess I can expect as much from a half-breed," Komali smirked.

"H...Half-breed?" Medli stammered. Komali grinned maliciously.

"You ever wonder why your skin's so pale? Why your hair's copper, not white? Why you can't fly as far and carry heavy things while flying? It's because you're not a Rito, born and bred," Komali sneered.

"Wh-what? No! I'm just as much a Rito as you are, if not more!" Medli protested. _Why are you doing this?_ Medli thought worriedly. What he was saying was really hurting her feelings...

"Lies. I checked the royal records because I was curious...you were found here on the shore when you were three or four. And you were raised as one of us, and you were given the honor of wings. But you aren't a Rito, and you _never_ will be," Komali snapped. Medli buried her face in her hands.

"No...no, that's not true...no," she sobbed, his words stabbing her like knives could.

"And so, you're weak. You can't hardly fly. And look at you! You run off with some kid!" Komali shook his head.

"'Some kid'? What the hell are you saying?" Komali's eyes widened as he recognized the voice.

"Ah, the bastard of the hour!" Komali snickered. Link walked over to stand in front of Komali, intimidating the Rito slightly. Link was several inches taller than Komali, his shoulders were broader, and Link was muscular where Komali was wiry.

"I heard what you were saying to Medli, you little rat," Link snarled.

"Yeah? It's all true," Komali shrugged. Link grabbed Komali by the front of his robe and pulled him up to eye-level. Medli sniffed and began sobbing again as she remembered what Komali had said.

"Whether or not it's true, she's still more of a Rito than you could _ever_ be. She abandoned her home to save Hyrule, she's honorable, and she didn't shirk her duties merely to hurt someone's feelings!" Link growled. "And don't you _ever_ talk to her like you did!"

"Or else what?" Komali smirked. Link set him down.

"That's what I-" Komali began. Link's fist stopped the sentence as it crashed into Komali's beak. Komali's world exploded in stars, and then his consciousness was no more.

"Or else I'll punch your fucking _lights_ out, you punk bitch!" Link snarled to the unconscious Komali. Komali fell backwards, hitting Medli, who, surprised, table-topped over the rail of the ship. She hurtled down into the water.

"Link! I can't-" she screamed. Water filled her mouth. _I can't swim!_ Medli thought as green water filled her vision.

"Hang on!" Link yelled, diving over the rail into the water. He swam underwater, grabbed Medli's arms, and wrapped them around his neck. He broke the surface, swam powerfully for shore, and laid her out on the beach. She coughed and spat up water.

"Are you okay? Breathe deep and let me listen for water," Link instructed, laying his head against her chest. Medli coughed again, but no water came up.

"Nothing. Good," Link said. He picked her up and laid her head against his chest. She turned and sobbed into his already wet clothing.

"Link...Link, it can't be true...oh, Link..." Medli moaned, emotion washing through her. Link's comforting arms wrapped around her shoulders. She sobbed and sobbed into his soaked, salty lobster shirt. Link stroked her back with his fingers and whispered soothing words to her.

"You'll be okay. It'll all be okay. I'm here, Medli. Just cry, I'm here," he whispered, kissing her wet hair and stroking her back. She sobbed and moaned into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist for comfort. Link ran his fingers through her hair and tightened his arms around her.

"I just...I've known him...and he...what could make him...oh, Link..." Medli sobbed nonsensically. She tried to get a sentence out that made sense, but the words wouldn't come. So she settled with sniffling and sobbing into Link's chest. Eventually, her tears dried. Medli sniffed and blinked her eyes. They were red-rimmed and a little puffy from crying. Link smiled sadly at her.

"Feel better?" he said softly. She nodded wordlessly and kissed him with thorough feeling. Link returned her kiss and stroked her back. Medli pulled back and let out a deep sigh.

"I can't believe...can't believe he would say all those things..." she said quietly, rubbing her eyes. Link ran a finger along the lines of her face.

"I know, Medli. He's your friend...but he's hurt. Komali loves you, or thinks he does, and this is his anger at being denied. He's immature, Medli—he's just fifteen. I'm sure in two years, when he's as old as we are now, he'll look back and be really embarrassed by what he said, but for now he's hurt and he's angry," Link said, sighing. He kissed her forehead and helped her stand.

"But it's near breakfast—we should dry off, get something to eat, and return to our studying of the books so that we can find the two Sages we need," Link suggested. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately, melding her body with his own. His hands rested on her hips. Medli wished the moment could last forever...but no. Slowly, she broke from him and took his hand.

"You're right, Link. We've got work to do," she nodded.

"Yeah...sorry," he grinned slightly. Medli glided over the water to the rope ladder and climbed up. Link swam over and climbed after her.

"By the way, Link...nice punch," Medli grinned, lacing her fingers with his. Link squeezed her hand.

"I've always got a glove for a lady in trouble," he smiled, kissing her hair. Komali groaned and stirred. He opened his eyes and put a hand gingerly on his beak.

"A-ahh..." the boy-prince winced, shutting his eyes in pain.

"How's it feel, you rotten buzzard? Like it?" Link glared. Komali returned the glare.

"How dare you treat the Rito prince as such?" Komali snapped. Medli released Link's hand and stalked over to Komali. Her red eyes locked with his red eyes. Though he was taller by almost half a foot, Medli was unimpressed by his height. She shook her head and turned to walk away. Komali stuttered a few noises out and reached out to grab her. Medli whirled and punched Komali in his beak. Komali cried out and fell backward, crashing to the ground again, holding his injured beak.

"That felt good," Medli smiled, taking Link's hand.

ooo

"It's been three hours and I still got nothin'...why did Medli get the one with the table of contents?" Tetra groaned, playfully pushing Medli. Medli grinned from where she sat tuning her harp. When she had fallen into the ocean, the harp had struck something and gone horribly out of tune. Using Link's Wind Waker, she was tuning the ornate gilt harp while sitting on a stool. Her largest string kept untuning itself...

"Ugh!" Medli groaned out loud as the lowest string lost tune again. She tuned the other out-of-tune strings carefully, then tried out the large one again. Finally, it was in tune.

"Hey, play us something, Medli!" Link looked up and smiled from where he was perusing his heavy volume of legends and research.

"Sure. Here goes," Medli shrugged. She stroked the strings of the harp, and beautiful chords and melodies followed her touch. Medli closed her eyes and lost herself in the music, letting her fingers find the strings by themselves. Something stirred in the harp. Medli could feel it. Suddenly, a definitive melody spoke from the harp, guiding Medli's fingers. Link and Tetra were gaping as Medli played the melody. Medli played it again to make sure she had it right, and the harp glowed.

"What...what was that?" Link asked, awestruck.

"I'm pretty sure that was the Nocturne of Shadow..." Tetra said slowly.

"Uh...what's that?" Medli asked.

"It's a song that's been forgotten by most. I saw it scrawled on a wall in Hyrule Castle under the stained-glass window of Impa...the Sage of Shadow," Tetra replied.

"What does it do?" Link asked eagerly.

"Well...it transports the player to the Shadow Temple, but I think it works only when the Hero uses it...that would be you, Link," Tetra answered. Link nodded.

"Well...if we have that, then let's head for the Shadow Temple, find out who we're looking for, learn the special song, and then get the new Sage and awaken him or her!" Link pounded his fist into his palm.

"How did the song go, again?" he asked Medli. She played it for him as he took out the Wind Waker.

"I wonder if I can get that on this Wind Waker...here's a shot," he muttered. Link moved the baton around, and voices like the wind itself responded. Purple sparkles appeared and whisked the three of them into the air. When they rematerialized, they were standing on the beach facing the gaping maw of a skull carved into the rock.

"No wonder people called this guy the 'Dark Sage'..." Medli said, shaking her head. She laced her fingers with Link's and walked into the mouth of the skull with him. Tetra looked behind them uneasily and walked after the two of them. They entered the antechamber and gasped. The rubble of what was once the sealing stone of the temple was scattered around the cave.

"How is this possible...?" Tetra said, looking around.

"No time to waste, then. We've gotta get moving!" Link urged. He ran to the hole that led to the temple, and he and Medli jumped in. Tetra took one last look behind them and leaped into the hole after them.


	6. Chapter Five

Across the Ocean

By Dominus Princeps

_A.N., Sorry for the long update, dudes! I was on Spring Break in Belize (which is in Central America for us cartographically-challenged Americans)._

**Chapter Five**

As soon as Medli's feet touched the ground in the Shadow Temple, she was chilled to the bone. The place was dark, dank, and generally unpleasant—and this was just the antechamber.

"Ugh...this place gives me the creeps," Tetra shivered. Link shook his head and walked for the door. Medli and Tetra followed quickly after him, not wanting to be left behind in the creepy dungeon. They walked down a long, steep ramp until they hit level ground. It was dark, and the sound of creaking stone caused Medli to yelp in fright.

"Don't worry about that, Medli. It's just the rocks in the walls," Link said reassuringly, taking her hand.

"I know, Link...but now I see why people were afraid of the Sage of Shadow," the Rito gulped. Tetra sighed and looked around.

"Well...it appears there's only one door here," she stated, walking for the door. It appeared out of place, as it had an ornate handle, along with stained glass windows in it. Tetra walked toward the door, screamed, and fell through the floor.

"What the hell?" Link gasped. He let go of Medli's hand, and crawled toward where Tetra had disappeared. He gasped as he felt a hole in the floor...but there was visible ground!

"Link!" Tetra's hand grabbed his wrist. Link pulled her up.

"Lucky I grabbed the edge...hate to find out how far down that hole goes," Tetra shivered. Medli sighed in relief.

"That's really weird...it looks like there's floor there..." Medli said. Suddenly, she felt a strange pounding in her head.

"Uhhh...I've got a horrible headache," Medli groaned. Then, she gasped. There was a voice...

_The all-seeing Eye...the seal of Verity...the Magnifying lens...you must possess the True sight to pass..._

"Medli, are you alright?" Link cradled her from where she had fallen.

"I heard voices...they said something about...the all-seeing Eye, a seal of...Verity? And a magnifying glass, and something about the True sight necessary to pass," Medli murmured, feeling as though she had just woken from a fever dream. Link frowned.

"Well, the all-seeing Eye definitely refers to the Eye of Truth spoken of in legends about the Devil's Well. The seal of Verity must be the seal of Truth which is the Sage of Shadow's symbol. I don't know about this magnifying glass...and the True sight refers again to the Eye of Truth," Tetra said. Link and Medli turned to look at her, surprised at her knowledge.

"The Devil's Well was a well that a powerful mage sealed an evil spirit in. The mage lost his eye in the battle with the demon, and it was said that he had the ability to see the reality past an illusion and anyone who held his lost eye would be able to do the same," the pirate explained. Medli stood and wavered.

"They're talking again..." she whispered.

_The Eye is between two brothers...the time Music wakes both...walls with Eyes aren't always true...what's not wrong is Right..._

"You said it aloud this time...two brothers...time music...walls with eyes?" Link muttered, thinking about it. Tetra pointed.

"Look at the wall! That wall on our left has the Eye of Truth painted on it" she pointed in the dim light at the barely visible seal.

"Walls with eyes aren't always true...? If the floor could be fake, maybe the wall could be, too!" Medli said. She ran over to the wall and ran her fingers along it. Tetra and Link joined her, but they found nothing.

"Man...there must be something we missed!" Tetra grumbled. Link looked up.

"The other wall! Of course!" he ran over to it...and ran right through it.

"Hey, wait!" Medli cried. Tetra ran after her.

"What's not wrong is _right!_ Like the direction right!" Link chuckled. They walked through a sliding door and entered a room that split into three paths after a circular base of a kind. Medli clutched her forehead.

_One may pass His trial...each may pass Hers...alone you are Prey...the eyes deceive but the Eye does not...where dreams cross Nightmares breed...only Three may open the door...shadows creep while Walls listen..._

"Well...I guess we have to split up, then," Link sighed, shivering. Medli shuddered involuntarily. She kissed Link briefly, then picked a path.

"I'll take this one. I guess we'll meet up later, right? 'only Three may open the door'..." Medli said, walking for a path. Link took the one next to hers, and Tetra took the remaining path. Medli wrapped her arms around herself and looked around, fright flushing through her body like cool fire. She whimpered as she brushed a damp wall in the semidarkness. Medli heard more voices, but they weren't the invasive, fever dream-like voices.

_Bird-girl..._

_Get out...this isn't your place..._

_You belong in the light..._

_We'll swallow you WHOLE!_

"Leave me alone!" Medli screamed, sprinting down the hall. She screeched to a halt at a fork in the hall. She looked at one hall, then at the other.

"Oh, no...which way?" Medli whimpered worriedly. She debated between the two pathways. One had to be the right path...but which was it? Medli bit her lip, then gasped as she looked to the floor of the left path. On it was carved the Eye of Truth!

_The eyes deceive but the Eye does not..._

"There!" Medli walked down the left hall. She looked nervously around her, and it seemed that the walls were closing in on her. Then, something grabbed her ankle. Medli screamed at the top of her lungs as she stomped on the huge finger wrapped around her ankle. She screamed again as she saw the hulking, shadowy hand. _A Wallmaster! _ Medli had only heard of them in stories; she and Link had only encountered Floormasters. Medli summoned a Stalfos to battle the monster. The Wallmaster hopped backward as the Stalfos appeared unexpectedly. The huge hand pressed the attack quickly, though...and received a heavy mace blow to its top. The Wallmaster was squashed flat by the staggering blow, and disappeared in a burst of purple smoke. The Stalfos seemed to grin at Medli before it disappeared as suddenly as it had come. Medli shuddered and continued walking down the path. It got so dark that Medli stopped to think.

"What if I come to another crossroads and don't even know it? I need a torch..." she said aloud to herself. Then she grinned.

"Of course! A Red Bubble!" Medli clapped her hands. A skull materialized on the ground, then quickly erupted in bright orange flame with an eerie, echoing laugh. The Red Bubble hovered in front of Medli and led the way, illuminating the unforgiving stone of the Shadow Temple. Medli saw something scrawled on the wall and shuddered. The writing was mottled brown...dried blood. The Bubble hovered near the writing so Medli could read it.

_Shadow Temple...here Hyrule's sorrows and greed are contained..._

Medli shivered and tore her eyes from the writing. She and the Red Bubble continued down the long, damp hallway. Medli saw more blood on the wall and read the message.

_Danger above..._

Medli frowned, looked at the ceiling, and shrugged. She walked forward and heard the sound of scuttling feet. Too surprised even to scream (which she seemed to be doing quite often in the tomb-like temple) Medli was knocked to the ground as a blunt object struck a heavy blow on her face. She heard her Red Bubble choke as it too was struck and extinguished. Medli blinked and got up. She summoned another Red Bubble and winced as it illuminated a huge, bloodthirsty spider. The spider's blood-red eyes lit up and it spun around, then spun back to face Medli. Medli summoned a Stalfos. The skeletal warrior lurched over to the spider and promptly had its torso knocked off its legs by a powerful spin from the spider, which used its legs like bludgeons. Medli determined that this was what had struck her. The Stalfos reformed itself abruptly and turned its head without moving its body, looking at Medli for instruction. Medli commanded it to hurl its mace at the spider when it turned its back. The Stalfos began spinning rapidly. When the spider turned its back to the Stalfos, the warrior let go of its spiked mace. The mace speared the spider, which was knocked from its web. The spider crashed to the ground and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Medli winced as pain flickered through her cheek, touched her aching face, and saw blood in the flickering light of the Red Bubble. She shook her head and continued through the corridor. It grew gradually lighter until Medli could see without the help of the Red Bubble. She unsummoned it and found herself at another crossroads. None of the paths had the Eye of Truth inscribed in them. One had a symbol like Din's Pearl, one had a symbol like the one on Farore's, and the last one looked like Nayru's. Medli looked between the three of them and chose the one with Din's symbol inscribed on it. Before she crossed the threshold, the voice came again.

_With the Goddesses come they themselves...red like Powerful fire...green like Courageous wind...blue like Wise water...the Eye cannot peer through Smoke, cannot open in Wind, cannot see in Water..._

Medli picked herself up from where she had collapsed on the floor and walked down the hall. She found herself in a chamber that resembled a battle arena. Medli looked around cautiously and stepped into the arena. Flame rose around the circular arena, and two Wallmasters dropped from the ceiling. Medli summoned a Stalfos knight to battle the two fearsome hands. The Stalfos spun wildly around, striking one Wallmaster and sending it skidding across the arena to come to rest near the wall of fire. Dizzily, the Stalfos stopped its head from spinning and turned back to face the other Wallmaster, which was quickly skittering toward Medli. Medli unfurled her wings and pumped into the air to avoid the grip of the gigantic hand. The Stalfos struck the Wallmaster mercilessly, hitting it until it stopped twitching and vanished in a burst of purple smoke. Medli landed as the Stalfos extinguished the other Wallmaster. Then, the Stalfos plodded over to Medli. Three Stalfos knights appeared around Medli and her Stalfos guardian. The three Stalfos converged upon Medli and her summoned Stalfos. She decided she and her ally needed support, and thus summoned a Floormaster and a Black ChuChu. The Floormaster wrapped itself around one Stalfos and rooted it to the ground, making the skeleton warrior harmless. The Black ChuChu hopped around and distracted another Stalfos, keeping its attention from Medli, her Stalfos, and the other skeletal berserker that Medli's Stalfos was currently battling. Their maces clashed and rebounded from one another, but the other Stalfos was just a slight bit slower than Medli's magically endowed guardian. As the enemy Stalfos reeled from a counter from Medli's Stalfos, the ally Stalfos took the opportunity and struck its enemy's head off, then crushed the head with its mace. Medli's Stalfos then armed itself with its enemy's dropped mace. It made its way over to the disabled Stalfos and crushed its head with a vise-like double-mace strike. The last Stalfos, no longer interested in the Black ChuChu, knocked Medli's Stalfos' head off in a surprise strike. The Stalfos head hopped around frantically, avoiding the wild swings of its enemy. The Floormaster grabbed the enemy Stalfos' ankle, anchoring it in place. The attacking Stalfos swung its mace into the Floormaster's palm, causing the purple hand to screech in pain. The Black ChuChu leapt at the Stalfos, striking it and rattling some bones but doing nothing more. The enemy Stalfos turned back to its adversary to find the head nowhere to be found. Medli grinned as her Stalfos ally performed another double-mace head-crush on its enemy. She sighed with relief and gasped as a Knight in purple armor appeared suddenly. It lowered its sword and strode toward Medli, whose summoned creatures had disappeared. She attempted to summon her Stalfos again, but the warrior wouldn't come.

"Ah! Does it have to recharge?" Medli asked. She faced the Knight.

"Are you ready to _die?_" it cackled insanely, swinging its sword even though it wasn't in range yet. Medli circled it, wondering if there was any way to fight the Knight. She ducked a wild swing of the Knight's huge, serrated blade and swallowed. In its heavy armor and with its huge sword, there was no way the Knight could be harmed. _Link always cut its armor off first...but I have no way of doing that..._ Medli thought worriedly. She pondered about the things she could summon and decided on a Blue Bubble. At least it was invincible to most conventional weaponry...it could distract the Knight until Medli could summon a Stalfos to attack the Knight directly. An eerie laugh confirmed her summon.

"Eh? What's this?" the Knight frowned as the skull surrounded by blue curse-fog cackled and flew at the armored Knight. The Knight struck the Blue Bubble with a vicious slash, but the attack only served to deter the Bubble for a short time before it regained its sense of direction and swooped toward the Knight again. It looped over another attack from the Knight and struck the Knight's vulnerable back. Its curse-fog corroded the belts holding the Knight's armor on and also cursed the Knight. Confused, the Knight attempted to swing his sword at Medli, but the weapon was anchored to the ground by the Blue Bubble's curse. Medli summoned a Stalfos at just that moment. The skeleton berserker lurched over to the Knight, wound up, and swung its mace into the Knight's gut, knocking the warrior over. The Stalfos raised its mace above its head and swung down again into the Knight's chest. Medli winced as she heard bones cracking. As a finisher, the Stalfos swung its mace into the Knight's helmet. The helmet shattered, and the mace crushed the Knight's head. Medli unsummoned her Stalfos and Blue Bubble. The wall of fire dissipated. Medli looked back to where she had entered and saw a blank wall. A tunnel was on the other side of the room. Medli jogged through it._ Maybe I just forgot which way I had entered from..._ she thought as she entered the room with the three halls again. But she entered from the main hall where she had fought the spider...Medli looked to the three hallways and found that there were only two left: the one with Farore's symbol and the one with Nayru's. Medli entered the hall with Farore's symbol and found herself walking through a familiar-looking building—the aerie on Dragon Roost Island. She was spooked, but then remembered she was in the Shadow Temple—extremely strange stuff happened in the Shadow Temple. Medli looked around and saw Prince Komali standing with a flower in his hand. The prince turned to face Medli, and his face lit up in a wide smile.

"Medli! I picked you a flower!" he said excitedly, handing her the pretty flower. Medli stepped back.

"W-what's wrong, Medli? You look scared," Komali frowned, tilting his head. Medli shivered and took the flower. She felt something run along her arm and dropped the flower. She looked up and saw Komali crying.

"You horrible girl...you broke my heart. I hate you. _I hate you!_ You ruined everything!" he growled through his tears. Medli shook her head.

"No, no...what are you talking about?" she stammered. Komali looked up from where he was looking at the ground.

"And I bet you enjoyed it! You liked breaking my heart! And you still have no remorse!" Komali snarled, stepping forward. Medli stepped back.

"No, that's not true. You're still very important to me, Komali!" she protested.

"Then _love me!_" Komali shouted, diving onto her. Medli shrieked into his mouth as he forced himself upon her. She kneed him in his groin, causing him to arch his back in pain and roll onto the ground.

"You bastard, don't you get it? I'm Link's, and no one else's! And I wouldn't have it any other way!" Medli growled. The world faded into black. Suddenly, she felt cool stone against her cheek. Medli shuddered and found herself laying face-flat in the place where she had entered the previous two pathways. Now, only the path with Nayru's insignia appeared. Medli sighed and walked into it. She entered into a small room with three doorways. One had the Eye of Truth marked over it, one had Farore's insignia, and the last had Nayru's symbol.

_Blindness is inevitable...when the Eye fails, so too will the Mind...the one thing that perseveres is the Invisible fist..._

Medli considered the hint and entered the door with Farore's symbol, since Farore was known as the Goddess of wind (which could be powerful, though unseen) and forest. She entered a room with three pedestals—one had a sword, one had a mirror, and one had a helmet.

_Forests grow back when Cut...a Barrier cannot save a body...what doesn't break when struck is of no Value...the protector of Head can save lives, but a Self-image can save souls..._

Medli pondered the meaning. _Well, it's not the sword...and it can't be the mirror, right? But what does 'cannot save a body' mean? A mirror can block your whole body...protector of head is a helmet...but the soul is more important than life! It's the mirror! _Medli thought. She walked to the center pedestal and picked up the mirror. She fitted it under her arm and saw a tunnel where there hadn't been one before. Medli walked through it and entered a room with three pictures over a locked door and a ray of light coming in through the ceiling. The three pictures were all different. One was a clock, one was a river, and one was a ship.

_I kill all kings...I rust all swords...I break all walls...I topple all empires...who am I?_

Medli frowned. _Water can kill anyone...it can also rust swords and destroy walls. But topple empires? Hm. I guess a ship could kill a king. But a clock? What can a clock do? ...wait, wait, that means Time! Time kills mortals, and all swords rust in time! Walls crumble as they age, and kingdoms never last forever! So what do I do now...?_ Medli wondered. She noted the ray of light and stepped into it. Medli angled the mirror so that the light reflected onto the picture of the clock. The door unlocked. Medli dropped the mirror and ran for the door. She walked through it and entered a room that was rather dimly lit.

"Hello?" someone called. Medli recognized the voice.

"Link!" she cried, running toward the figure who was warily eyeing her.

"Medli?" he asked as she jumped into his arms.

"That place was so creepy!" Medli murmured into his chest. Link held her by the back of her head and ran his hand through her hair.

"Hey, you're bleeding!" Link said worriedly. Medli touched her cheek.

"It's nothing; I got surprised by a giant spider," she shrugged it off.

"So what were your puzzles like?" Tetra asked, walking into the room. Link turned.

"I had some really annoying block-pushing puzzles, as well as collecting five grey Rupees in order to unlock a door. What about you guys?" Link asked.

"I had to make my way through a maze of fake doors and false walls. Medli?" Tetra replied.

"I walked through several halls before I got to this crossroads with three different rooms with puzzles based on the three Goddesses. So...anybody find anything?" Medli asked. Link pulled out a map.

"I found this in one room," he replied. Tetra reached in her pocket and displayed a blue compass.

"I pulled it from a chest. Here, Link, you know how to use these two the best of all of us," she said, handing it to Link. He pocketed the compass and rolled the map up before putting it in his pocket. Then, they saw two eerie lights wavering through the room.

"Dear me, brother, it seems we have a visitor," a voice came.

"Quiet, little brother, I'm sleeping," a different voice growled.

"Oh, right. I believe I shall do the same," the first voice yawned. The lights disappeared.

"Wait...how did it go? 'The time music will wake the two brothers', or something like that?" Link asked. Medli nodded, intrigued by the voices. Link pulled out the Wind Waker and made three swift movements. Medli heard a rooster crow and cocked her head.

"Oh, my! Is that the Sun's Song?" one of the voices gasped. A light blinked into existence.

"I believe it is, brother! But who knows our song, now? The one we taught it to is long gone!" the other voice said. Another light appeared. The room was suddenly lit, as if sunlight could penetrate all the way into the crypt of the Shadow Temple. Medli gasped. Two elegantly dressed men were floating in midair. Their faces, however, were jet-black and featureless, except for two glowing green eyes. They had ornate swords in gilt scabbards hung from their waists.

"Well, isn't he a scrawny one? Although he reminds me of the old Hero of Time for some odd reason," the taller man chuckled, scratching his chin.

"You may be right, Sharp. He _does_ resemble that kid, doesn't he?" the shorter one grinned at his brother.

"Yes, Flat, he does...and I can't put my finger on why...anyway, he's intruding on the Shadow Temple," the one called Sharp smiled viciously.

"Agreed, brother. Shall we?" Flat replied, grinning like a hungry sea-shark.

"We shall. It has been altogether too long since we had a little fun," Sharp snickered. In a flash, they had both drawn their swords and were rapidly converging on Link. The hapless Link barely managed to raise his shield before the swords struck him. He was knocked backward by the force of the double blow.

"Well, he's got a shield _and_ a sword. Definitely reminds me of the old Hero of Time. However, _that_ one wore a green tunic-looking thing around," Flat chuckled as he and Sharp darted backwards.

"Yes, yes, you're right..." his brother nodded. Link drew the Prism Sword and stood in a ready stance. Flat made a stab at Link, who leapt into the air with a flip-slash. Flat yelped with surprise as the Prism Sword erupted in white light and scorched him.

"Ah, the light! It burns!" Sharp screeched to compliment his brother.

"Damn, he's a nimble one!" Flat cursed. His brother glared at him.

"Pssh! You're just reckless!" Sharp grumbled before facing Link.

"Allow me to show you _real_ swordsmanship!" the taller brother grinned. He darted back and forth from Link's left to Link's right before slashing right at Link. Link rolled to the side and leapt up in an uppercut slash, the Prism Sword transforming into a blade of light. Sharp cursed and quickly blocked the light sword. Link stumbled as Flat kicked him in the back and dropped to the ground to avoid a slash from Sharp that would've decapitated him. Medli looked worriedly at the battle and pondered a way she could help Link. Tetra took out her bow and nocked an arrow to the string. She let fly, striking Flat in the chest.

"Bloody hell! Someone's shot me!" Flat said, surprised. Link took advantage of Flat's momentary distraction and performed a jump slash that knocked Flat to the ground. Link then slashed horizontally twice, performed a two-handed vertical slash, and finished with a leaping uppercut slash. Flat shrieked as Link's light-endowed Prism Sword slashed and seared his body. Flat lay still on the ground. Link turned his attention to Sharp, who was circling him.

"You killed my brother? You'll pay!" Sharp spat angrily, swinging his saber to emphasize his point. Link watched Sharp warily. Sharp blocked one of Tetra's arrows, then slashed at Link. Link jumped the slash and blocked the follow-up with his shield, then jumped at Sharp, sword above his head. Sharp kicked Link in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. Medli cried out as Link hit the ground hard. Link picked himself up and shook his head, then hurriedly blocked a wild stab from Sharp. Link jumped to the left, feinted to the right, and jumped at Sharp again. He twisted away from another kick and slashed Sharp right in the face. Sharp screeched in agony and fell to a knee on the floor. Link jumped and stabbed his sword into Sharp's forehead. The flying swordsman faded, as did his brother. In place of their bodies were two hovering, green wisps of light.

"Curse him! Come now, Flat, let us...oh, not again," the light on the right grumbled, apparently noticing that it no longer had a dangerous shape.

"Oh, Sharp, now we're stuck! He's banished us from our constructed forms..." Flat sighed. Sharp's eyes gleamed yellow against the green of his wispy form.

"Well, young swordsman, you're quite adept at this," he would've grinned, if he had a mouth. Link wiped the sweat off his forehead and sighed as he sheathed his sword.

"Thanks...you're not too shabby yourself," he said wearily.

"Ha ha...it's been a while since we've seen a mortal, and even longer since one has been able to best us. Well, young swordsman...having defeated us, you are entitled to our treasure. Go on...it's yours," Flat said. Sharp blinked.

"Um...young swordsman, if you wouldn't mind...what is your name? I'd like to know who bested the Royal Composer brothers," Sharp asked.

"Name's Link," Link replied.

"I _knew _there was something familiar about him! See, didn't I tell you, brother?" Flat exclaimed.

"Oh, hell, Flat, you _know_ I said there was a resemblance before you did! Don't be asinine!" Sharp snapped. The two spirits disappeared, bickering. In the center of the room, a chest came into view. Link walked over to it and opened it. He reached in and pulled out a purple object.

"It's...a really fancy magnifying glass," Link frowned. Tetra ran over.

"That's not any magnifying glass—that's the Eye of Truth!" she gasped. Medli ran to Link's side.

"Oh, cool! ...how does it work?" she asked.

"You put it to your eye and it allows you to see what's hidden. I believe it takes much concentration, though...you might wanna be careful with it," Tetra answered Medli's question. Link closed an eye and looked through the Eye of Truth.

"Hey, there's a hidden door there! Let's keep going!" he said. Link took Medli's hand and led her and Tetra through a false wall and through a door that had been hidden. They entered a huge room with a ship docked at a port.

"What the heck...?" Medli said, surprised. Link walked over to the ship and hopped aboard.

"Come on, guys! I've got a good feeling about this!" Link grinned, waving to them from the deck. Medli and Tetra looked at each other, sighed, and jumped aboard the ship. Link stood in a circle with a wind insignia on it and played the Wind's Requiem. The ship lurched and rocked, then shot forward, knocking the three of them to the deck.

"Uff!" Tetra groaned, picking herself up from where she had hit the mast. Medli got up and took Link's hand.

"What a weird temple..." she muttered. Link chuckled.

"Never gets boring!" he grinned. Tetra growled with disgust.

"You're right. Look above us," she sighed. Two Stalfos knights were scrambling down the mast, maces across their backs. Link unsheathed his sword and stood in a ready stance, shield at the ready. The Stalfos ignored Medli and Tetra and focused on Link...which was a mistake. Tetra leapt onto one and pulled its head off, then smashed it to the ground, shattering the brittle bone. The other Stalfos gave Tetra a solid mace swing, knocking the wind from the girl and sending her skidding across the deck. Medli ran to her side.

"Hey, are you okay?" Medli asked worriedly, cradling Tetra's head. The pirate opened one eye slowly.

"Ugh...that hurt. I'll be fine," she grimaced, getting up with Medli's help. In the meantime, Link had finished off the other Stalfos.

"Nice work," Medli smiled. Link grinned and sheathed his sword before kissing her forehead. Tetra rolled her eyes and pointed.

"Hey, look! Land!" she said. Link nodded.

"Yeah. I guess we'll stop when we reach land?" he pondered. The boat began to shake.

"I guess not! Jump!" Tetra cried, leaping from the boat. Link hoisted Medli over his head and jumped. Medli beat her wings rapidly to keep them aloft. The "shore" with Tetra seemed so far...they touched down lightly, and Link set Medli down. They looked around, and Medli spotted a door high above them.

"Hang on—I'll go check that door out!" Medli pointed to the door before unfurling her wings and flying to the door. She opened it and stepped into a dimly lit room, something that was rather common in this temple. Medli summoned a Red Bubble to light the place and clamped her hands over her mouth to prevent her scream from escaping. Skeletons, skulls, and Re-Deads. One Re-Dead lifted its head, then drooped again, as Re-Deads were fond of. Medli looked across the room and saw an ornate chest—the Big Key! She unsummoned her Red Bubble and crept across the room, being careful not to wake the Re-Deads. Medli let out the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding as she reached the chest. She opened it slowly so as not to make too much noise and pulled the Big Key from the chest. Medli pocketed it and turned to see bars close over the door, making a loud, grating screech. All the Re-Deads in the room instantly looked up and turned their eyes to Medli. They screamed almost all in synch, freezing Medli in place. She shook from fear but managed to calm her nerves and summon a Stalfos. The skeleton berserker raised its mace and smacked a Re-Dead to the ground, smashed another across the face, hit one with a wild horizontal attack, and knocked one into the air with an uppercut. The Stalfos finished the Re-Dead that was lying prone on the ground, then turned its attention to the one stalking toward Medli, who was again rooted in terror of the flesh-eating zombie. Medli sighed in relief as her Stalfos guardian flattened her attacker. She cheered as the Stalfos knocked one across the room and pumped her arm as the skeletal warrior defeated the last of the eerie, blue zombies. The bars across the door retreated upwards, and Medli exited. She glided down to where Link and Tetra were waiting.

"What did you find?" Link asked. Medli pulled out the Big Key.

"Nice...now we can get into the boss's room," Tetra grinned. They crossed a narrow rope bridge that spanned a deep, dark gap. Link warily looked around before continuing. Medli eyed the walls and stumbled as she heard voices.

_Get out..._

_Surface-dwellers should stay on the surface..._

_Your blood will fill our wells..._

_We will devour you WHOLE!_

"Did anyone else hear that?" Medli whimpered. Link put his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah. Just keep walking," he soothed. Tetra kept a wary hand on her spare dagger. Her favored dagger had been broken when she had fought the White Knuckle, but she always kept a spare just in case. They came to a door that had been broken down. It looked as though something huge had just rammed through it. Shards of stone and a silvery lock were strewn across the ground.

"Someone's here, in this temple. That's why the seal was broken at the entrance; that must be why there's a shattered door here," Link grimaced. Medli pondered all the possibilities and shuddered. Link pulled her closer to himself and walked through the door. They entered a long hall with a huge door at the end. This door had a large, gold lock on it. It was dented, as though someone had tried to break into it without the key, but the door still stood. Link took the Big Key and fit it into the gold lock. The lock, along with its chains, fell to the ground. Link, Medli, and Tetra entered through the door. They saw a boy in black clothing kneeling at the center.

"Hello? Hey!" Link called, jogging out to the boy. Medli and Tetra followed Link.

"Hey, he's crying!" Medli pointed out. She knelt beside him and wiped his tears.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He looked up, and Medli realized it wasn't a little boy but a near-fully grown man. Hunched over, sobbing, he looked much younger.

"What's wrong?" Medli repeated. The boy sniffled.

"This whole temple...it's scary, and my head feels like it's getting crushed...so many voices...so much pain..." he murmured, then collapsed into Medli's lap, sobbing again. Medli winced and looked back to Link.

"He's pretty upset," she said.

"What's your name?" Tetra asked soothingly.

"Goto..." the boy in black replied shakily.

"Well, Goto, we're gonna get you out of here. Did you see any large, threatening monsters around here?" Link asked. Goto shook his head.

"No...I don't remember what happened...I just woke up here," he sniffled. Medli and Tetra helped the boy to his feet.

"Well...I don't see anything around here..." Tetra sighed. Link snapped his fingers.

"Of course! We need the Eye of Truth!" he grinned. He took out the purple magnifying lens and peered through it.

"Aha! There's a door...that way," Link pointed. He led the girls and Goto to the door, then opened it. They walked into a room that looked identical to the one they had just left.

"Weird..." Medli muttered. At the center was a small pool of water and a tree with branches but no leaves.

_What happens when shadows are REAL?_

_What happens when a reflection can cut?_

_Can you fight yourself?_

_Who will win?_

Medli shivered at the familiar voices. Link staggered and fell to one knee.

"Link! Are you alright?" Medli knelt beside him, putting her arms around him worriedly.

"Agh...feel so cold..." he winced. He picked himself up, unsheathed his sword, and pulled his shield from his back.

"I know there's a boss here..." Link said warily. Tetra sighed.

"I'll stay with Goto. You two find the boss," she said. Link and Medli nodded. They walked to the tree, looked around the room, then stopped.

"This water...there's something not right with it..." Link said slowly. He peered into the water and saw his reflection...but Medli noticed that the room was not reflected, only Link and herself.

"Well...we'd better get Goto to awaken as the Sage of Shadow, if there's no immediate boss..." Link remarked.

"How do you know he's the Sage?" Medli frowned.

"I can feel it. It's not something I can explain," Link replied. They turned and walked toward where Tetra was talking to Goto. Medli heard a whistle of a blade and dove out of the way just in time as a black sword slashed where she was half a second before.

"Damn!" Link turned to face his opponent. Medli gasped from where she was prone on the ground. With black, tousled hair, black features, black clothes, and a black sword and shield, was Link...but his eyes were ruby red.

"What in the...?" Medli breathed, getting up. He and Link were battling fiercely, darting about, rolling, and slashing, but neither giving an inch. They were evenly matched, of course: they were the same person. This dark Link had a deep, raspy voice compared to the Link Medli knew. He was every bit as strong and quick, and was cunning, too. He knew all of Link's feints and tricks and used them flawlessly. Link backflipped from a horizontal slash and stabbed at dark Link. Medli's eyes widened as the dark Link leapt nimbly onto Link's sword and kicked him in the side of the head, sending the blond swordsman sprawling. Link rolled dizzily to his feet and shook his head. Medli rushed to help him. The dark Link saw her and jumped over to her. He struck her with his shield and knocked her to the ground. Medli whimpered and covered her face with her hands.

"Heerrraaaah!" Link's roar of anger cut through Medli's fear. The Prism Sword was embedded in the dark Link's chest, and light pulsed through the black swordsman's body. Dark Link backflipped away from Medli's prone body and scuffed his boot against the ground before pressing the attack on his counterpart. Medli got to her feet and jumped for Dark Link's ankle. The evil swordsman stumbled and turned, distracted, to attack Medli. _Bad choice,_ Medli thought. Link got another slash in on Dark Link, causing the shadow swordfighter to stagger backwards from the force of the Prism Sword's light blast. Medli distracted Dark Link yet again, but this time was too reckless. He grabbed her and held her like a shield, using her to block Link's expected slash. Medli struggled in his iron grip, but was rewarded with a stinging cut across her cheek from Dark Link's sword. He repositioned the blade at her throat and stepped backward slowly.

"I'll put her down if you put your weapons down," Dark Link rasped, his tone even.

"Don't do it, Link! He'll kill me!" Medli pleaded. Link appeared to debate the point, then crouched down to put his weapons down. Dark Link laughed and shoved Medli down before raising his sword to stab her in the back. Medli closed her eyes, but the blow never came. She heard Dark Link's agonized scream and saw the Prism Sword embedded in his chest, light streaming from the blade. Link grinned and picked up his sword from where he had thrown it into Dark Link. He sheathed it, put away his shield, and reached a hand down to pull Medli up. She kissed him gratefully, pulling away at Tetra's catcalls. Link took her hand, and the two of them walked over to get Goto.

"Alright, Goto, here's the deal: we think you're the Sage of Shadow. I mean, how else could you get in this temple, right? So I'm gonna play you this song, and you're gonna play along, okay?" Link said, pulling out the Wind Waker.

"You wanna know how he got in here?" a sinister voice chuckled. The four of them whirled to see...the Black Knuckle!

"Damn you!" Link hissed. The Black Knuckle laughed.

"I thought you might wonder why some doors were seemingly smashed. You see, I never was one for keys, so I managed to knock one down. The boss door was much harder, thus, I let you get the key for me. Goto was magically whisked to this room as soon as you entered it, much to my surprise. However, now it is time for me to kill him. His death at his own sanctum will release massive amounts of magic...and I, the killer, will receive that magic," the armor-clad man grinned. Link stood in a ready stance, sword and shield out.

"I won't let that happen!" he growled.

"That makes two of us!" Medli seconded.

"Three," Tetra snarled, pulling out her bow. She let off a surprise Light Arrow, stunning the Black Knuckle. Link sprinted up to him and, along with Medli's Stalfos knight, attacked the Black Knuckle wildly. The paralyzing effects wore off quickly, and in two quick punches, the Stalfos was a mess of bone and Link was sprawled on the ground, moaning in pain. The Black Knuckle picked up Link and would've hurled him down had the Stalfos' dropped mace not tripped him at that moment. Link hit the ground and got to his feet slowly. The Black Knuckle was not so lucky. Wearing a gigantic suit of armor may have been useful defensively, but Medli decided that once he fell, he was going to be down for a while.

"Now, Link! Awaken him now!" Tetra cried. Link fished around and pulled out the Wind Waker. He conducted the Nocturne of Shadow and waited. Goto shivered and put his fingers to his lips. He whistled a replying melody to Link's nocturne, and suddenly light flowed through the room.

"Let's go, Link," Goto said. He grabbed Tetra's arm and pulled her into the warp. Link did the same for Medli. The last thing Medli saw before they left the Shadow Temple was the Black Knuckle pushing himself to his feet.


	7. Chapter Six

Across the Ocean

By Dominus Princeps

_Note to "The Sleeper": I appreciate your criticism. I'd like to add that most writers exaggerate certain parts of stories (and, by that token, life), and that most things were done for plot reasons and/or for things that shall be explained. Having said that, perhaps this was an excuse, but if I could genuinely recreate these characters, my name would be Shigeru Miyamoto. I only do my best, but I appreciate that you took the time to read and critique my work._

_A.N., Sorry AGAIN for the long update! I've been so lazy as of late, and this chapter isn't even as long as I usually write, but I hope it's enough for you guys. This time around, I will seriously get this out within the week, as opposed to my previous three- and four-week update times! _

**Chapter Six**

Medli shivered as the adrenaline wore down. Link had conducted a cyclone to take them back to the King of Red Lions.

"I'm not extremely sure about where we'll end up, but I'm pretty confident we'll be near the pirate ship and my boat," Link said sheepishly. Medli gulped and watched the sea below them sweep past. Around twenty seconds later, Tetra pointed.

"Hey, there's the pirate ship! Set us down!" she called over the raging winds. Link concentrated, and the whirlwind suddenly stopped...but the four of them were still almost a half mile up.

"Link!" Medli unfurled her wings and dove for him as he hurtled downwards.

"Grab Goto! I'll get Tetra!" Link called, pulling out a small leaf. To Medli's surprise, the leaf suddenly expanded into a huge parachute. Medli swooped down to Goto.

"Grab my ankles!" she said urgently. The Sage of Shadow obliged. Medli turned and saw Link with Tetra on her ankles.

"I can't glide forever with this leaf, Medli, and I know you can't stay aloft indefinitely with someone holding on, either. Let's drop until we're low enough to stop our fall and hit the water safely," Link suggested. Medli nodded and tucked her wings to her sides as Link shrank his leaf-thing. They dropped quickly.

"Now!" Medli shouted, more familiar with relative altitudes than Link was. Link expanded his leaf, and Medli beat her wings furiously. Her shoulders burned with the effort, but she slowed her fall significantly. Link came to a rest a few yards beneath her. They glided as close to the pirate ship as they could get. Medli was sweating from the effort, and her wingbeats grew weaker and weaker before she gasped and dropped. Goto let go of her ankles and rotated himself so that his feet were facing the water. He pointed his toes and clamped his arms to his sides. Medli, on the other hand, tumbled through the air, exhausted from flying so hard. Link and Tetra hit the water first, then Goto hit, and finally Medli smacked the surface. The impact knocked her unconscious.

ooo

Medli awoke in a hammock in one of the pirate ship's cabins. She blinked the haziness from her eyes and walked up the long flight of stairs to the deck. Tetra was sitting on the rail of the pirate ship, talking to Goto, who was watching her with interest in his eye.

"Hey, where's Link?" Medli asked when Tetra reached a gap in her conversation.

"He's prepping the King of Red Lions for sailing off again. You two are going to go find the Water Temple. We don't have sufficient records here, but Link thinks that the library on Dragon Roost will have the texts," Tetra replied. Medli nodded and stretched her aching shoulders. She peered over the edge of the ship and saw Link packing some things into the ship's compartment on his boat. Medli climbed down the rope ladder on the side of the pirate ship and glided over to Link and the King of Red Lions.

"Good to see you awake," Link smiled, pushing the wet hair plastered to her face behind her ear. Medli smiled back and kissed his cheek.

"So...we're off to Dragon Roost Island, my home?" she asked. Link nodded as he finished his preparations.

"Yep. You guys have that famous royal library. While I would've preferred the library in Hyrule Castle, yours is the best on this side of the ocean, so..." he replied. Medli nodded and sat down on the side of the boat.

"Don't leave me behind like you did last time, you meanies!" an irritated squeak came from the deck of the pirate ship. Medli and Link looked up and shared a grin as they watched Makar hop off the side of the pirate ship and glide down to the King of Red Lions using his leaf-helicopter. He touched down and wiggled back and forth with apparent indignation.

"You guys left suddenly and I had no idea where you were and I was scared and I couldn't find you, and now you come back and you had a great adventure and you left me behind like a bunch of meanies!" Makar pouted. Link patted him on the head.

"Sorry, Makar. It happened all so suddenly, we clean forgot about you. Can you forgive us?" Link grinned. Makar appeared to think about it for a short time.

"Okay. But only if I get to go with you this time!" the Korok said. Link smiled.

"Sure. With that, let's go!" he said, pulling out the Wind Waker. Medli held onto the mast as the boat was lifted into the cyclone.

"If you think that putting me through this a lot will make me like it, you're wrong!" Medli shouted to Link over the din of the cyclone.

"Sorry, babe, but it's the fastest way around here!" Link shouted back. Makar was clamped onto Medli's leg again, as he had been the last time they all traveled together in a cyclone. A minute or so later, they touched down right next to the small sand beach on Dragon Roost Island. Link and Medli hopped out; Makar flew over the water and waited for them on the beach. Medli took Link's hand in hers as they walked up the stone ramps toward the Rito aerie set into the mountain.

"You fixed the big gap here, eh?" Link remarked as they walked across a wooden bridge that spanned a gap.

"Yeah...how did you get across that the first time?" Medli asked.

"I had to sidle carefully along a small ledge. No fun," Link snorted. Makar rode on Medli's head so that he didn't have to run after the two of them. They climbed the steeper ramp that led directly into the aerie. As their eyes adjusted to the dimmer light inside the Ritos' ancestral home, Medli was suddenly aware that every Rito had his or her eye upon the trio.

"Medli? Is that _you?_" the king of the Rito gasped. Medli blushed and scuffed her feet.

"Uh...yeah," she replied.

"You've been gone for a little while...three weeks, maybe?" the king frowned. His face brightened.

"But it's so good to see you. And Link, hello! How have you fared these days?" the king turned to Link with twinkling eyes. Link grinned.

"Not so bad. I mean, Ganon was no fun, but I won, so that's what matters," he replied.

"Hmm...you've changed a lot from the scrawny boy who came here asking for Din's Pearl a year and a half ago. You're taller, certainly, and you look more muscular," the king ruffled Link's already messy hair.

"So, to what do we owe this visit?" the king asked.

"Well...there's a problem. When I fought Ganondorf, I sealed him in stone. However, I overlooked one of his swords. There's a sorcerer-warrior who calls himself the Black Knuckle who somehow got a hold of that sword. We took it from him the last time we fought him, and now we're trying to seal it back with Ganondorf. However, to reenter Hyrule, we need the Two Medallions, along with the blessings of Zelda and the Sages of Shadow and Water. We've already awakened the Sage of Shadow, so we need to locate the Water Temple for its awakening song. We thought your royal library might have some info we could use," Link explained. The Rito king looked rather intrigued.

"Well. That's quite a problem you've got on your hands. But, for you, Link, who saved our people, well...use of our library is a petty favor. Here's the key; Medli can show you where it is," the king smiled warmly, pressing a gilt key into Link's free hand. Link smiled back.

"Thanks. Let's go, Medli," he said. Medli led him by the hand up the ramp from the first floor to the second.

"Wait, Medli...what is that hanging onto your ponytail?" the king asked. Medli grinned.

"That's a Korok. His name's Makar. He's an excellent cellist," she responded. The king nodded, and Medli began leading Link again. They reached the library on the top floor, and Link fitted the gilt key into the lock on the door. Medli pushed it open, and the three of them gasped as they gazed upon the massive library set into the wall of the mountain.

"This is unbelievable," Link breathed. Medli and Makar nodded in agreement. The shelves and shelves of books reached the ceiling...which was twenty feet high. A desk was visible at the center of the room. Medli and Link jogged over to the desk. A Rito attendant was sitting in a chair, reading a book.

"Um...we're looking for any texts on the Water Temple," Link said as the attendant looked up from her book.

"Right. Okay, ah...this way," she said, motioning for them to follow. After a short walk, the attendant spread her wings and flew up a few rows and hovered at one row.

"Hmm...Wind Temple...Wind Gods...ah, here we go, Water Temple. I'll take these two, and you can peruse them," the attendant said. She plucked the two books from the shelf with her feet and stretched her feet out as she dropped so that Link and Medli could grab the books. After they had taken the books, the attendant landed and walked over to her desk.

"There are some tables and chairs over there," she pointed toward a few tables and chairs. Link sat down and opened his book immediately. Makar climbed on top of Medli's head from where he had been perched on her ponytail so that she could sit down comfortably. Medli flipped through the pages of her book and frowned in concentration.

"Aha!" Link said suddenly. Medli looked up at him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It says the Water Temple rested at the bottom of Lake Hylia. So all we need to do is find where Lake Hylia is...or was," Link said, trailing off at the end. Medli nodded and turned back to her book. Link got up and walked over to the library attendant. He walked off with her and came back soon with a large text tucked under his arm.

"It's an atlas of old Hyrule. I'm surprised they had it here, but I bet this'll have the answer," Link remarked cheerily.

"Huh. Wouldn't something like that have been lost in the flood?" Medli asked. Link shrugged.

"Ask the attendant. I'm not too well-read on the subject; I just know all this stuff from the King of Red Lions," he replied. Medli nodded and turned back to her book.

"Hmm...it says you need the 'chain-spear' and the 'heavy feet' just to enter the temple...what do you think that means?" she frowned, looking up at Link. Link scratched his unkempt hair and grinned.

"Well, the 'chain-spear' sounds like the Hookshot. And heavy feet...I'd say the Iron Boots. They are pretty heavy," Link said. He flipped through several pages and studied the maps. Medli turned a couple pages in the book that didn't apply to what they were looking for.

"Hey, here it is! Lake Hylia...I wish there was a landmark I could compare with the modern world!" Link grumbled, frustrated. He peered at the map more closely.

"Wait..." Link said, taking out his sea chart. He laid it next to the atlas of the entire kingdom and grinned.

"Hmm...Dragon Roost Island and Death Mountain are in almost the exact same location, as are the Gerudo Fortress and the Forsaken Fortress...Windfall must be the marketplace of Hyrule. Outset is near the Kokiri Woods, which means...Lake Hylia is near that secret spot that Tetra showed us! No wonder her password was 'Hylia'!" he smiled as it all fit together. Medli smiled with him. Link closed the atlas with a satisfied look on his face.

"Shall we go?" he asked. Medli nodded.

"Yeah, we've got a Sage to awaken!" she grinned. They returned their books and walked from the library. Medli heard light snoring and plucked Makar from her head to find that he had fallen asleep.

"And he wanted to come along for the ride..." she shook her head, amused.

ooo

Tetra sighed as she watched the water lap the sides of her pirate ship as it rested at the dock at the pirates' secret island.

"Gonzo!" she yelled, standing up straight. The first mate sprinted to her side.

"Yes, ma'am!" Gonzo saluted.

"Haul anchor, you scrawny sea rat! We're setting sail!" Tetra snapped. Gonzo looked at her eagerly.

"Really? Where to?" he asked.

"None of your business, you pathetic excuse for a pirate! Now get moving!" Tetra replied, standing on her tiptoes to cuff him on the back of the head. Submissively, Gonzo jogged over to where the mechanism that reeled in the anchor rested. He cranked it until something clicked.

"Anchor hauled, ma'am!" Gonzo called.

"Mako! Niko!" Tetra yelled. The two shorter pirates scampered over to Tetra.

"Unfurl the sails! _Now!_" she ordered. They nodded and scrambled up the rope ladders that led up the mainmast. When the sail fell to its full length, Tetra ran to the ship's wheel. The sail billowed in the wind, and the ship slowly began accelerating. Soon enough, the big pirate ship was making good speed northwest.

"Lucky the wind is good...I'd give us around three, maybe four days till we get there..." Tetra muttered to herself. _Link...I've gotta tell you, even if you don't feel like I do. I can't let it stew inside me._

ooo

"Hey, why are you guys here?" Link and Medli turned at the sound of a familiar voice. Komali was leaning in the archway that led out of the Rito aerie.

"Oh, h-hey, Komali. We came for...for some information about the Water Temple," Medli replied, more than a little uncomfortable about talking with the Rito prince.

"Gotcha. How'd the Shadow Temple go?" he asked. Link shrugged.

"Not so bad. Pretty creepy place," the blond boy answered.

"Can I go with you guys to the, ah, Water Temple, was it?" Komali requested eagerly. Medli turned to Link and shrugged.

"He seems better...maybe it was just the heat of the moment," she whispered.

"Well...alright. Never know how it might help," he whispered back.

"Sure, you can come. Got everything you need?" Link smiled. Komali held up a finger.

"Hold on. Let me go get my sword, okay?" the Rito prince said. He jogged off past them to his room.

"Wait—how did he know about the Shadow Temple?" Medli asked, turning to Link. Link blinked.

"Hey, you're right...he was on the pirate ship, and couldn't have known where we were going!" he frowned. At that moment, Komali walked out, a short sword fastened at his waist.

"Well? Are we going?" he smiled eagerly. Medli and Link shared a look before walking off to where the King of Red Lions was anchored and resting. Link hopped in and helped Medli into the boat. Komali leaped nimbly in like Link had. Link hauled anchor and pulled out the Wind Waker. He conducted the winds west, then summoned a cyclone to carry them to Outset Island. Within a few minutes, Medli saw the twin peaks of Outset rushing toward them. Link set them down and unfurled the sail with Medli's help. The King of Red Lions accelerated quickly and was soon moving at a good speed toward Tetra's "secret spot". Komali dipped a hand in the water rushing by and laughed at the feeling. Medli smiled at him from where she sat on the edge of the King of Red Lions.

"Seems like he's better..." she murmured to Link. Link turned to her.

"Yeah...I kinda feel bad for punching him...something came over me; it wasn't just that I was angry at him for saying that junk to you. It was some weird, insidious feeling..." Link said from where he was standing at the tiller. "Well, anyway, we'll be at that secret island soon, so we'll have to be on the lookout for the Water Temple's entrance."

"Right," Medli replied.

"Hey, what is that?" Komali pointed to where Makar was sleeping on the deck. The sudden noise woke the slumbering Korok.

"Abandon ship!" Makar yelled, terrified. Medli grabbed him before he could follow through with his statement.

"This is Makar. He's a Korok," she explained, cradling the stubby, rounded Makar. Komali tilted his head.

"Oh, cool. I've never seen a real Korok. How come he's traveling with us?" the Rito prince asked.

"Because Link and Medli left me behind for the Shadow Temple, now I get a slice of the action!" the Korok replied, shaking in Medli's arms. She set him down, and the stocky Makar waddled over to the prow of the King of Red Lions, where he somehow managed to climb up to the head of the boat.

"I see land, Link! We're not too far!" Makar cried back to Link, who nodded and adjusted the tiller slightly.

"We made pretty good time," Link remarked. As they neared the island, Medli tilted her head.

"That roaring sound...what is it?" she said to herself. Her eyes widened with realization at the very moment that the King of Red Lions was sucked underwater.

ooo

Tetra pulled out her Gossip Stone on a sudden thought.

"I wonder how Link's doing..." she remarked aloud. She peered into the Gossip Stone and saw water raging. The scene seemed oddly familiar. Tetra searched the image and saw Medli, Komali, and Makar clinging to the mast of the King of Red Lions as the water raged around them. Her eyes widened.

"They're in the whirlpool defenses of my secret spot!" she gasped. There was no way for anyone to say "Hylia", however, because they were all underwater. Tetra thought frantically for a way to save the four of them and suddenly remembered that whatever she said into her Gossip Stone would be repeated through the one Link had.

"Hylia!" she shouted. The water raging around Link and his crew stopped, and the King of Red Lions shot for the surface. It broke into the air, and Link and his group began gasping, taking in the precious air.

"Close one, there," Tetra said into her Gossip Stone. Link pulled his out and spat out some water.

"Nice save," he said between deep breaths. She shrugged.

"Always here when you need it. Damn, Link, you're lucky I was wondering how you were!" Tetra grinned.

"No kidding. So, what's up?" he shook his head, spraying water from his soaked hair. Tetra sighed.

"Not much. Say...why are you heading to my secret spot?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"We think, based on what we found, that the Water Temple is located at your secret spot...where Lake Hylia once was. Wish us luck!" the blond boy smiled.

"Good luck...and bring me back a souvenir," Tetra smirked.

"Don't worry about that. By the way, where are you, anyhow?" Link asked.

"Ah...just sailing, trying to find something on those 'Two Medallions'. See you around sometime!" she replied. He pocketed his Gossip Stone, canceling their link.

"Damn...I meant to tell him, I had to tell him, but he was surrounded by his friends, and I didn't have the courage...Link, the next time, I will tell you, I promise," Tetra scowled. She pounded the rail of the ship.

ooo

Link guided the King of Red Lions into the natural harbor at Tetra's "secret spot", and Medli dropped anchor. Komali looked around.

"Wow...this place isn't on any of the maps I know," he said, taking in the sights.

"Strange that even the Rito wouldn't know of this island...there must be something deeper than whirlpools protecting this," Link remarked. Komali nodded in assent.

"You're right. That is strange," he said.

"Well, shall we check out the island and see if we can find the entrance?" Medli suggested. Link shrugged.

"Sure. You and Makar go left, and me and Komali will check right, alright?" Link nodded. Medli nodded in agreement and picked up Makar from where he was standing on the deck. The Korok held onto her ponytail as she hopped out of the boat.

"Here, take this Gossip Stone so we can communicate if we find something," Link handed her a blue stone wrapped with a piece of strong twine. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Be careful," he said. There was command in his voice.

"Don't worry! Between my amazing Wind powers and Medli's cool skeleton guy, we'll be fine!" Makar squeaked zealously. Link laughed.

"I'll hold you to it. C'mon, Komali, let's go," he grinned. He and the Rito prince walked off down the beach. Medli sighed.

"Alright, Makar, we're off!" she said. She hiked up a tall, rocky hill and entered a wooded region at the top of the hill. Medli pushed a branch out of her way and walked through the cool, shaded woods. Makar looked around from his perch on top of her head.

"This is a strange woods...I'm getting a strange feeling from the trees," he commented.

"Like what?" Medli asked.

"I can't speak to them like most trees...it's like there's a curse over them or something, that's the way it feels, at least," the Korok shivered.

"Weird..." she shook her head. Makar suddenly began shaking.

"Medli...the trees are speaking now! They say that there are evil monsters in these woods and that they're afraid the monsters will cut them down if we don't help! We gotta help them!" Makar screeched. Medli winced at his high pitch and frowned.

"Ask them where the monsters are," she prompted. Makar made a prolonged, trilled whispering noise that was just on the edge of Medli's hearing. She heard a kind of rustling in the trees' leaves, but nothing more.

"Medli...they say...duck!" Makar squeaked. Medli dropped to the ground as a claw slashed the air where she had been not five seconds ago. Medli scrambled to her feet and faced a pair of wolves with glowing yellow eyes. They howled with delight and circled her.

"Take...this!" Makar squeaked, throwing his hands to the air for drama. A Mothula appeared, fluttering its wings and causing flickering orange dust to scatter over the ground. The two wolves were distracted for a split-second...just long enough for the Mothula to swoop down and knock them both flat. Medli called a Stalfos to their aid. The skeleton berserker hefted its mace and swung it at one of the wolves. To Medli's surprise, the wolf nimbly backflipped and then jumped at the Stalfos. Its replying strike was blocked by the Stalfos' mace, but barely. The foe was quick. A howl made Medli jump and whirl to face the other wolf, but Makar's Mothula struck it flat again. The giant moth chittered with apparent amusement and flapped orange dust at the wolf circling the Stalfos. The wolf was once more distracted by the dust, and for its mistake, received a fifty-pound spiked club to the face. It whimpered with pain, then disappeared in a burst of smoke. Makar's Mothula was in the process of finishing off the other wolf. The Stalfos hurled its mace at the wolf and struck it in the chest, killing that one, too. The Mothula chirped angrily at the Stalfos before they both disappeared.

"Good teamwork, Makar," Medli grinned.

"Well, I _am_ the Sage of Wind!" Makar puffed himself up. Medli shook her head and sighed.

"Let's keep going," she said.

"The trees say there are more monsters, and they're not just possessed wolves. They say that there are bears, too, and other such creatures...along with a huge one with an axe. What could that mean?" Makar pondered.

"Axe...?" Medli's eyes widened.

"There must be an evil sorcerer with an axe who's enchanting these creatures! What a meanie!" Makar said angrily.

"Ask the trees if he's wearing black!" Medli instructed. Makar made the barely audible whispering noise again.

"They said yes," he frowned, "What does that mean?"

"It means that the Black Knuckle has been following us somehow..." Medli remarked, horrified.

"The Black...Knuckle?" Makar gasped.

"We'd better tell Link!" Medli said.

"No chance of that, little Sages," a sinister voice said. Medli turned and was struck in the cheek with an armored backhand. Her vision exploded into multi-colored sparks before her consciousness fled.

ooo

"I wonder how Medli and Makar are doing," Link sighed as he and Komali slid down a dusty hill.

"I dunno. I'm sure they're fine, though. Medli's clever, and I hear that Koroks are powerful when they're in the forest," Komali shrugged.

"Who said anything about a forest?" Link frowned. Komali bit his lip.

"Uh...didn't you see it? It was at the top of that hill where we landed," the Rito prince struggled.

"How do you know they went in there?" Link asked, by his tone only mildly suspicious.

"I just kinda guessed. I mean, why would a temple be on the beach?" Komali shrugged.

"Point. But it is the _Water_ Temple," Link remarked. Komali sighed with relief. Link still hadn't found out.

"So, what was the Shadow Temple like?" Komali asked, curious.

"Not so bad. Really creepy, though. Shadows and skeletons and damp stone everywhere. The puzzles were weird, too, at least for me. I fought two ghost swordsmen, and for the boss of the temple I had to fight some strange shadow of myself. Needless to say, it was weird," Link replied. The Rito prince nodded.

"Huh," he said.

"By the way, Link..." Komali grinned, "I have something I meant to give you."

"Oh, yeah? What would that be?" Link was mildly intrigued, and turned to face Komali as they strode through the rocky paths. Komali reached in his pocket and pulled out a purple jar.

"Know what this is?" the Rito prince asked. Link frowned as they stopped to look at the purple jar in Komali's hands.

"I have no idea," Link said. He took the bottle from Komali.

"It's a bottle dyed purple," Komali smirked. Link blinked, then looked up. Komali's blade was headed right for his chest. With barely enough space to spare, Link dropped to the ground and swept Komali's feet from under him.

"What are you doing, you crazy kid?" Link back-handsprung away from the Rito prince and unsheathed his sword and pulled his shield from his back. Komali's eyes flashed yellow.

"What I've been wanting to do since I saw you hold Medli's hand!" his voice was somehow different from the cheery voice Link was familiar with. But before Link could think about it, the Rito was pressing the attack. Link deflected the blow with his shield and slapped Komali with the flat of the Prism Sword. Ice leaped from the blade and encased Komali's left arm. With effort, the Rito broke the icy burden, but, having taken his eyes from Link, was completely off guard when Link spin-kicked him in the face. Komali spun to the ground. Link stepped on his sword arm and his chest.

"What are you doing? Why are you fighting me?" the blond boy asked, searching Komali's eyes. They flashed yellow again, and this time Link was sure he had seen the flash. Komali grinned.

"Fool...Link, you're such an idiot. You never sit back and think about what goes on in this world; it's always about running around and swinging your sword, isn't it?" the boy's voice was vicious and cruel...nothing like what Link had heard. It was then that Link realized where he had heard this voice before...when Komali had taunted Medli about her heritage on Tetra's ship.

"You'll thank me for this later, kid," Link sighed. He stepped on Komali's throat. The Rito prince's eyes widened. He made a sucking noise that halted suddenly as the air didn't make it past where Link was standing. When the boy's eyes rolled back in his head, Link stepped off, put away his sword and shield, sheathed Komali's sword, and slung the Rito over his shoulders in the fireman's carry.

"You can't escape us this time," Link whirled at a voice and gasped as he felt an arrow pierce his back. The pain was numbing...no, there was some paralyzing agent in the arrow!

"What's..." Link struggled to speak as he fell to his knees. Komali fell from his shoulders. Link's last vision was of a beautiful woman with a bow standing in front of him. Then, his face hit the dirt.


	8. Chapter Seven

Across the Ocean

By Dominus Princeps

**Chapter Seven**

_Why do I always end up getting captured?_ Medli thought, frustrated as she was prodded through the winding tunnels of some cave she had awoken in. An Iron Knuckle was jabbing her in the back with the haft of his axe whenever she slowed down. Makar was tied to her head.

"Keep walking, prisoner!" the Iron Knuckle rumbled, his deep voice almost making his facemask vibrate. Medli turned, stuck her tongue out, and received a jarring armored backhand similar to the one she had gotten however long ago it was that she and Makar were obliviously traveling through the woods. This blow made colored sparks explode in front of her eyes, but it wasn't strong enough to knock her out, like the last one was.

"No attitude, prisoner!" the Iron Knuckle growled. Biting back tears, Medli picked herself up. Her head was pounding from the blow, and her cheek was bleeding from the rough spikes on the Iron Knuckle's gauntlet. Medli walked stiffly down the dark, damp corridors of the cave. As she thought about it, the place reminded her somewhat of the Shadow Temple...in that it was dark, creepy, and there was danger right behind her around every turn. Makar whimpered quietly as he shivered. Medli wanted to pat him and tell him they'd be fine, but she knew that that action would only get her an armored backhand. Makar began shaking even harder, and Medli realized that he wasn't shaking...he was almost vibrating. When she heard a strange giggle and saw the Iron Knuckle whirl at a triple-fireball attack, Medli quickly yanked Makar from her head, pulling the ropes off with him. She turned to face the Iron Knuckle and saw him fruitlessly trying to battle the Wizrobe that was rapidly teleporting around and hurling triple-fireball assaults at the Iron Knuckle. A golden-dressed Wizrobe appeared and summoned two Black Knights. The Iron Knuckle shrank from his barrage of assailants, then was brutally finished by a double jump attack from the Knights, which knocked his armor off, and a hail of six fireballs from the twin Wizrobes. His charred body vanished in purple smoke.

"Nice one, Makar," Medli grinned.

"Those ropes chafe! My bark is sore!" Makar sighed. Medli looked around.

"Where are we, I wonder? When I woke up, that Iron Knuckle was carrying me. Then, he set me down and made me walk. So...we could be anywhere," Medli sighed. Makar sighed again.

"Wait, don't you have that Gossip Stone thingy? You can at least talk to Link!" Makar said. Medli nodded.

"You're right. Let's see here...aha!" she pulled it out from where it was hanging around her neck. Medli pulled it over her head and looked at it.

"Link? Link, can you hear me?" she tilted her head as she gazed into it. Suddenly, an image appeared...a cold, stone chamber with several braziers lit. The hulking figure of the Black Knuckle was easily recognizable; with him was a woman dressed in an outlandishly tight pink top and puffed, long pink pants.

"We'll just wait here for them...they're sure to come, now," Medli heard the Black Knuckle say to the woman. "Excellent work with Link."

"What else do I and my girls do?" the woman grinned, a predatory look on her face. The view shifted as Link apparently stirred.

"Master, I think that they, being Medli and the Korok, are nearing us. Shall we prepare?" a voice that was oddly familiar asked. Medli couldn't see who was speaking.

"Yes...in fact, why not go out and greet them yourself?" the Black Knuckle chuckled.

"As you wish," the speaker said. Medli heard his footsteps as the unseen speaker exited.

"We'd better get ready, Makar. It sounds like they led us here on purpose. Summon a Master Wizrobe and a Mothula and I'll ready a Stalfos and a Blue Bubble, okay?" Medli planned.

"Right!" Makar said as he stood on top of her head. He vibrated with power, and then Medli heard the odd chime-like sound of the Wizrobe teleporting. She also heard the soft wingbeats of the Mothula. Medli summoned her Blue Bubble, which emitted its echoing cackle, and her Stalfos, whose bones clacked as it jogged after them. They wound down and down into the caves until they reached a level place, circular in shape, with braziers lining the walls.

"Medli! I've been looking all over for you! Link's been captured by the Black Knuckle; we've gotta get to him. Follow me!" Komali ran from an entrance to her right.

"You didn't try to get him out?" Medli asked.

"I did, but now they're chasing me because I got caught. Between you and Makar, we'll have plenty of power to fight these guys!" Komali gasped as he stopped running.

"Gotcha. Let's go!" Medli nodded.

"Wait, Medli...wasn't that..." Makar began. Komali waved at them.

"We've gotta go!" he urged. Medli jogged after him, Stalfos, Blue Bubble, Mothula, and Master Wizrobe in tow.

"I think that was him talking..." Makar whispered. Medli blinked.

"No way...wait..." she gasped. Komali turned to her. His face was eerie in the blue light cast by the Blue Bubble.

"Medli...what else could I do to save Link? I had to pretend I was one of them in order to get information! I had to pretend to be under his influence! But it was just a trick!" Komali said. "Now, let's go!"

"Komali...there's something funny about you..." Medli began, stepping away from the boy. His eyes...Medli was sure she saw them flash yellow. She turned and ran, and just in time. His sword bounced off the harp on her back as he swung it at her while she was fleeing. She bounded into the circular room and spun to face him. He dashed out and received a stomach-full of spiky Stalfos mace. Winded, Komali barely leaped over the secondary sweeping swing and beat his wings to escape the Stalfos. He wove in and out of the Master Wizrobe's triple-fireball and dodged a swoop from the Mothula. He struck the Blue Bubble with his sword but only managed to deter the flying skull. Komali landed and leaped at Makar's Wizrobe, but only slashed air when he swung for it. It teleported away and let loose another tri-fire assault. Komali was hit dead-on by one fireball as he tried to dodge and was knocked flat from the force. He rolled away from a Stalfos strike and spin-kicked its head off. Komali plunged his short sword into the Stalfos' head, defeating the warrior. As the Blue Bubble dove at the Rito boy, Komali whirled away from it and beat his wings furiously at the skull, extinguishing its eerie blue flame. He stomped on it, killing the Blue Bubble.

"That's not good...I'm fresh out of summoning power..." Medli muttered as she strained to call a Black ChuChu. It wouldn't come. In the meantime, Komali had hacked off one of the Mothula's wings and then proceeded to stab it in the belly, killing it. He hit the ground and came face to face with three Black Knights, a Bokoblin, and two mountain Eagles.

"Din's Fire!" Komali roared. Suddenly, a dome of flame surrounded the Rito boy and then spread forth in all directions, destroying his enemies quickly. As the Master Wizrobe appeared, Komali hurled his sword at it, piercing it in the chest and pinning it against the wall. He turned to Medli and Makar and advanced on the pair, a predatory gleam in his eyes. Medli turned to flee, but Komali sprinted forward and caught her by the ponytail. She yelped in pain as he yanked backward, pulling her to the ground. Medli hit hard and wheezed as the air in her lungs was pushed out. Makar squealed as he toppled from Medli's head. Komali stood over Medli, holding her down with his foot on her stomach. He held the squirming Makar in his right hand.

"How does it feel to be under _my_ power? For two years, I was caught by your spell; now I have the power. And I command you to love me!" he cackled. Medli was having trouble breathing from the pressure from his foot.

"What are you talking about, Komali? You really...need to get over this!" Medli gasped, her eyes widening as the boy pushed harder on her stomach.

"Silence! I will not tolerate a servant who talks back!" Komali glared. He turned to Makar.

"Now...as for the annoyance who singed my tunic..." Komali grinned evilly. In his hand formed a ball of fire. Makar screamed and began wriggling desperately in Komali's grip. Suddenly, the flat of a huge, serrated blade slammed into the Rito boy, knocking him into a wall. With the last of its fading strength, the Master Wizrobe had summoned a Black Knight. The Master Wizrobe drooped and then vanished in purple smoke. Komali picked himself up and growled in anger.

"You'll pay for this, you little-" he didn't finish his sentence. A spiked mace whirled into his stomach. Medli's quickly summoned Stalfos saluted smartly. Medli pulled out her spare grappling hook and used it to quickly tie the unconscious Rito boy.

"Medli...I don't think Komali's okay," Makar whimpered as he clambered up her ponytail.

"I agree, Makar. He's being controlled; that much is obvious. His voice is almost metallic, and he's nowhere near the Komali I knew and taught," Medli replied, sighing. She took out a length of rope and wound it around Komali's unconscious form. The Black Knight slung the bound Komali over his shoulder and walked along behind the pair, with the Stalfos Knight. The four of them plus Komali wandered into a dimly lit room. Medli, hearing sudden motion, dropped to the ground. Her Stalfos along with the Knight was instantly vaporized by a huge, black ball of energy. Komali dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Medli's eyes adjusted to the light, allowing her to barely see the easily recognizable bulk of the Black Knuckle.

"You've certainly done well thus far, little Sages. But now you'll die, and for my benefit, nonetheless. How ironic. You build your powers to save the world from evil only to have them taken to empower a sorcerer such as myself," the heavily armored villain chuckled. Medli circled around to see if there was some way to trick the Black Knuckle. Her foot brushed something...the hilt of a sword. The Prism Sword! Medli quickly grabbed it and unsheathed the weapon.

"The last time you tried that, I defeated you just as easily as I would've were you unarmed," the Knuckle taunted. Medli growled with evident distaste and held the sword tightly. She rushed at the Black Knuckle but was knocked flat by something impacting her face at high speed. The braziers suddenly were lighted, and Medli found herself on the ground looking straight up at a woman dressed in a tight pink top and fluffy pink pants. Medli scrambled to her feet to avoid a double-scimitar slash and turned to face the woman.

"You, with your heart and ferocity, should have been a Gerudo, little Rito. Too bad they taught you those 'morals' when you were younger," the woman scoffed. Medli frowned and held Link's sword with two hands. The woman advanced confidently on Medli, and then, right before she was in range of Medli's sword, agilely flipped over Medli's head, landed behind her, and spin-kicked her in the back of the head, knocking the hapless Rito flat. Medli, dazed by the second blow to her head in the last several minutes, blinked to clear the stars from her eyes. When her vision cleared, she saw the woman standing right over her, swords raised almost ceremonially. Medli rolled onto her stomach, and the swords were stopped as they hit Medli's gilt harp. Medli somersaulted away and got to her feet. She faced her attacker and let out a breath to focus.

_Okay...this woman is faster, stronger, and better at combat than I am. So how can I beat her?_ Medli pondered. She tried to summon a Blue Bubble to suppress the woman's fighting, but felt a strange force weighing on her. Medli guessed it was the Black Knuckle and sighed. The woman in pink laughed mockingly, front-flipped toward Medli, and slashed her sabers in intricate arcs. Medli held the Prism Sword in front of her and tried to stop the blades. She somehow managed to block the attack, to her surprise. Medli turned the temporary reeling of her foe to her advantage and pressed the attack, swinging the Prism Sword at her opponent. The woman easily blocked the attack and kicked at Medli. The Rito girl ducked the now-expected kick and stabbed the Prism Sword forward. Her foe trapped the Prism Sword in her twin blades and attempted to wrench it from Medli's grip.

"Medli! Over here!" Makar shouted. Medli looked over to the Korok as she tried to keep her grip on the hilt of the Prism Sword. Makar had found and freed Link! Medli turned back to her foe and narrowed her eyes. She unfurled one wing and beat the woman across the body with the wide, blunt limb, distracting the warrior. The momentary distraction was all Medli needed to tug the Prism Sword free and toss it over to Link.

"Nice fighting, by the way," Link grinned as he whirled his blade. He was missing his shield, which Medli guessed that the Black Knuckle had taken, but was still equally dangerous with just a sword in his hand. The woman in pink shrugged and stepped toward Link. She swung her twin scimitars at Link in another series of deadly yet beautiful curves. Link blocked one slash, rolled under another, and dropped to the ground in a sweep slash to avoid and counter a last attack. His foe barely avoided losing her ankles, but slipped on a patch of ice that had formed when the Prism Sword was swung at her. She landed flat on her back and rolled to avoid Link plunging his sword at her. Taking a deep breath, she circled Link. Link held his sword in a ready stance, the thrill of the battle evident in his posture and expression. Medli watched the fight worriedly. The two of them seemed evenly matched...and even if Link won, he'd have to fight the Black Knuckle afterwards...

"Ready?" the woman cried, jumping for Link. Link tilted his head, sidestepped her jump, and whirled to her, resting his sword on her throat.

"A little wild, there," he grinned. She gasped.

"You can't have..." she stammered. Link looked up.

"Hey, where'd..." he started. When he looked away, the woman's foot arced into his crotch. Link's eyes bulged, and he dropped his sword and fell over, holding himself and rolling around, agony written all over his face.

"This isn't the last of the Gerudo clan!" the woman said. There was a hissing of a smoke bomb, and when the smoke cleared, there was only Medli, the writhing Link, Makar, and Komali bound and unconscious.

"You'll be okay, Link. At least I know that you're a boy for sure," Medli grinned as she helped him up. Link winced and nodded.

"Thanks for the support," he muttered darkly. She sighed.

"So...where are we?" the Rito girl asked. Link looked around and frowned.

"I don't quite know. I guess we should go through that tunnel and see where it leads. What's the worst that could happen, right?" he shrugged.

"Hey, where'd the Black Knuckle go?" Makar wondered as he clambered up Medli's ponytail. Link sighed.

"I wondered that, too, for a split second...which was just long enough for that woman to give me a shot straight to the-" he grunted.

"Besides, that's not too bad, I guess. If he's not here, then we can proceed without worry," Medli cut in.

"What about Komali?" Makar asked. Link and Medli turned back to the unconscious Rito prince.

"Oh...right. Should we wake him?" Medli asked Link, sighing. Before Link could respond, Komali stirred, groaned, and blinked his eyes open.

"Uh...why am I tied up? And what's going on here?" the boy inquired, looking supremely puzzled by the situation. Medli and Link met eyes.

"You don't remember fighting us?" Medli asked. Komali looked back and forth between Link and Medli.

"This isn't some sort of mean joke, is it? 'Cause I hate those, especially when I have no idea what's going on or what's been going on. What day is it? Last I remember was seeing you two at the market at Windfall," the Rito prince said, discomfort evident in his voice. Medli and Link shared an incredulous gaze and turned back to Komali.

"That's the last you remember?" Link asked to make sure. Komali nodded. He tilted his head.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked. Medli noted he was looking slightly above her, meaning he was looking at...

"Oh, that's Makar. He's a Korok and a big friend of Link's," Medli replied. Komali nodded.

"Hey, uh...could you let me free?" the prince gave them a pleading look.

"He reminds me of my old student...let him loose, Link," Medli whispered. Link shrugged, unsheathed the Prism Sword, and cut Komali free. Komali stood. He put a hand on his sword's scabbard.

"...Where's my sword?" he pondered.

"Oh, it's back where...uh, you fought Makar and me," Medli replied. The four of them backtracked to where Komali's sword was still embedded in the wall. Komali grabbed the hilt and tugged hard on it.

"Darn...it's stuck tight. Who did this?" he frowned.

"Uh..._you_ did, Komali," Makar squeaked uneasily. Komali whirled to Makar and Medli.

"Why do you guys keep saying that I did this stuff? I didn't fight you and I sure as hell didn't do _that!_ I can't even pull it loose; how could I have stuck it in there?" the Rito prince asked, frustrated.

"Well, it's a long story...but not fifteen minutes ago, you, Makar, and I had a huge battle royale, you versus us. It was weird...your eyes kept flashing this sick yellow color," Medli explained. Komali's brow furrowed.

"Strange...it seems as though I remember that, but it's like it was a dream I had...not like something I experienced," the Rito boy sighed. Link, in the meantime, had managed to yank Komali's blade from the fissure in the wall it had created.

"Here you go," Link handed the prince his sword. Komali sheathed it, and the four of them returned to the chamber where Link had battled the woman in pink.

"Oh, where's my shield?" Link grumbled, looking around. They split up to search for Link's Mirror Shield, but no one found anything.

"Sorry, Link..." Medli shrugged, "I don't think it's anywhere here."

"It's alright. I've done without a shield before," Link sighed. They turned to the dark tunnel ahead of them. Medli summoned a Red Bubble for light and led the way, taking Link's hand in hers. Komali followed them, eyeing Link's fingers with a mixture of envy and sadness.

_I remember most of it...it wasn't like a dream...it was all me, but there was a foreign piece to it. That's what made me mean...partly. I _am_ bitter, but...I know I can't...can't ever...damn it._

ooo

"What in the world...?" Komali gaped at the huge stone monolith at the end of the passage. It was lit by the flickering light of the Red Bubble. Link squinted to read the inscription on the stone. Medli had the Red Bubble hover close to the stone so that Link could read the carving. Link pulled out the Wind Waker and conducted a smooth, lilting melody. He stood frozen for a moment or two and then opened his eyes.

"We've gotta go find the Sage of Water, now. Supposedly, the Sage plays a guitar. We'll be hard-pressed to find someone in all of the world with that identical guitar, but..." Link remarked.

"What's he talking about?" Komali asked, curious.

"Well...the original Sages of the temples are long since dead, these days. So, we have to find the modern incarnation of said Sages, who can be distinguished by their carrying of the instrument that the original Sages played," Medli explained. Komali nodded.

"Alright, let's get out of here and go searching for that Sage!" Link grinned. They jogged from the chamber with the Red Bubble in the lead. They moved through the place they had fought the woman in pink, through the arena where Medli and Makar had fought Komali, then up a long, spiraling path. After almost five minutes of jogging, they broke through out of a cave entrance. It was evening.

"Man...I wonder where the King of Red Lions is. We should find the shore and follow it till we get to the boat," Link sighed. Medli unsummoned her Red Bubble and took Link's hand as they descended the hill that the cave was situated on top of. Makar sighed and yawned.

"I'm tired..." he remarked. Komali chuckled.

"Don't fall off Medli's head, Korok," he grinned. Makar turned around and snorted.

"I won't. I have superior balance," Makar said, tilting his body up so that it looked like he would be holding his head high if he had one.

"Alright. I'll take your word for it," Komali smiled. Link's pocket suddenly shook.

"Hey!" a voice came from it. Link took his hand from Medli's and fished his Gossip Stone out of his pocket. Tetra gazed out of the stone.

"What happened back there? I tried to contact you, but there was some kind of interference!" the pirate said worriedly.

"Don't worry; we're fine. Just a run-in with the Black Knuckle, but nobody's hurt. Now we're off to look for the Sage of Water," Link replied.

"The Black Knuckle? You're sure you're safe?" Tetra frowned.

"Yeah, we're alright. We're all in one piece," Link nodded. Tetra sighed.

"Alright. Well, see you around, I guess. If you see us, come by so we can have a little catch-up session, okay?" she said.

"Uh...where are you?" Link asked.

"Oh, you know...just sailing, looking for anything that might help you," Tetra shrugged.

"Okay, well...see ya," Link pocketed his Gossip Stone. They had since reached the beach and were now walking along it. The evening sun cast a gemlike light across the water.

"Think it'll take long to reach the King of Red Lions?" Komali asked. Link shook his head.

"The island isn't very big, relatively. Neither, of course, was Gale Isle, or the other two islands with the temples underneath them," the blond boy replied. Komali nodded. Makar's soft snores made Medli giggle.

"He's sound asleep," she grinned, taking him from her head to cradle him in her arms to keep him from falling.

"And he said he'd stay on," Komali chuckled. Link shook his head.

"Don't cross Makar, though. He's a powerful Sage, what with those Wizrobes and Mothulas," Link commented.

"Sage? He's a _Sage?_" Komali gasped. Link and Medli shared a look.

"Right...you don't know about these things. I forgot. Uh...how can we say this...Medli is, too," Link remarked.

"I was wondering about that Red Bubble..." Komali grinned knowingly. He sighed.

"So...where should we start looking for this third Sage?" the Rito prince asked.

"Fourth. Don't forget Goto," Link reminded.

"Who?" Komali blinked.

"Oh, right...you don't know him. He's the Sage of Shadow," Medli said.

"When did you find him?" he pondered.

"When we went to the Shadow Temple...and you don't know we went there, either," Link sighed. Komali sighed.

"Man!" he growled, frustrated. _It's hard to keep this façade...I remember most of that, and the parts I don't, for some reason they're already in my memory...as if someone was using my brain for something..._

"Well...here we are!" Link grinned as his red sailboat came into view.

"Anyway, I repeat, where should we start looking for the fourth Sage?" Komali asked.

"Hmm...let's return to Outset and check up on my family. Besides, someone might know something about a legend, seeing as the island is so close to this one. Oh, and, Komali? Hang on," Link replied. He pulled out the Wind Waker. Komali's brow furrowed.

"What?" he asked. Medli grabbed his wrist as she clung to the mast. Her move wasn't a moment too soon. The red boat spun into the air and shot northeast.

"What the heck?" Komali shouted over the raucous winds.

"Ballad of Cyclones! Useful song!" Link grinned, hanging onto the tiller. Makar whimpered as he clung to Medli's shin desperately. They touched down quickly a few hundred yards from Outset Island's shores. The ship rode the waves till it reached the small pier, which Link hopped onto with rope in his hands. He deftly tied the boat to the pier and then reached his hand out to help Medli ashore. Makar flew onto the pier using his leaf propeller; Komali clambered onto the deck by himself. The four of them walked down the pier and were greeted by numerous Outset natives.

"We saw the tornado and were a little worried, but it was just you, huh, Link?" someone smiled. Link nodded.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about," he replied. Orca bowed to Link.

"Has the Prism Sword served you well?" the old weapon master asked. Link snorted.

"It's a weird blade, but...yeah, it has," he answered.

"Yes...it has odd properties, I agree, but it is nonetheless a powerful and fearsome weapon," Orca said reverently. Link nodded.

"Say...where's that reflective shield?" the old man frowned.

"I lost it...it was taken from me, I think," Link sighed. Orca shook his head.

"Shame...it was truly a great piece of work. Still, I'm sure you'll find it again. Such a shield would be hard to keep from prying eyes, I think," he tilted his head. Link shrugged.

"Well...I'm going to go home, okay?" Link said. He took Medli's hand as they walked up the ramp to his house.

"Wow, this is really a beautiful island..." Komali said, awestruck by the scenery.

"It's certainly different from Dragon Roost," Medli replied, smiling. Komali nodded. Link knocked on his door and then opened it when no one came to the door. He looked around the house.

"Weird...nobody's home," Link frowned. Medli let go of his hand and picked up a sheet of paper on the ground.

"One week only! Famous musician touring! Windfall, Auction House, from 5-7 p.m. each night! Tickets 20 rupees!" she read aloud.

"Musician, huh? Think it might be the one we're looking for?" Komali grinned.

"Yay, musician! Maybe you're right, Komali, but either way it'll be fun!" Makar whooped.

"I bet that's where Grandma and Aryll went. Aryll's always loved music," Link remarked. They walked outside the house and noted the wiggling mailbox.

"MAIL'S HERE!" it shouted. Link walked over to the red mailbox.

"Letters for Link? You have one letter!" the jubilant mailbox said, coughing out a letter.

"Dear Big Brother,

Guess what? Grandma got me a new guitar for my birthday a few days ago! And guess what? _I'm going on a tour!_ They said I was so good that they're sponsoring me! Cool, huh? Come to Windfall; I'll get you free admission! Don't be late, Big Bro!

Love, Aryll," Link read. He stopped.

"Guitar...that's right! Aryll plays the guitar! _Duh!_" he hit himself in the forehead.

"So your sister is the musician playing?" Komali asked.

"And she's the next Sage?" Makar tilted his head/body.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Link grinned.

ooo

The King of Red Lions touched down in Windfall's natural harbor and spun to a stop. Link cruised the boat in and then moored her to the pier. They all exited the boat and walked down the pier.

"It's late afternoon...the concert should be soon," Medli remarked, eyeing the sun. Link consulted his compass/watch and nodded.

"Yeah, around four-fifteen. The concert'll start in forty-five minutes. Let's go find my sister and talk to her," he responded.

"The flyer said that the concert was at the Auction House, right? We should head there," Komali said.

"Yeah. Let's go," Link nodded. They walked through the archway leading to the inner parts of the city. They quickly reached the alabaster building with the crimson door and stepped inside. The sound of an acoustic guitar being tuned reached their ears.

"Sorry, the concert hall is not open yet," a security guard said, crossing his arms.

"That's my sister up there," Link explained.

"Big Brother?" Aryll turned from where she was tuning her guitar. She set the instrument down, leaped from the stage, and threw herself into Link's arms.

"I knew you'd come!" Aryll cheered. Link chuckled and kissed his sister on the forehead.

"You got a new guitar, huh? Let's see it!" he said. He motioned for the other three to follow as Aryll skipped for the stage. Link's sister picked up her guitar, hitched the strap over her shoulder, and rested the guitar on her lap. It was a rich yellow-brown, and the neck of it was black with metal frets. There was a swirling black pattern on the guitar's front.

"That's it. Exactly..." Link murmured. Aryll tilted her head.

"What's up, Big Brother?" she frowned.

"Uh...hey, Aryll, mind if I conduct you for a little?" Link asked, pulling the Wind Waker from his pocket. Aryll shrugged.

"Sure. Ready?" she asked as he stood erect. Link conducted the melody he had learned at the Water Temple's entrance. Aryll listened and then replied with a smooth and soft melody that complemented Link's well.

"Strange...it's like I've known that tune my whole life..." Aryll's voice seemed oddly hollow. She blinked.

"Big Brother, we've gotta get to the Water Temple. I know what we've gotta do!" she urged.

"Gotcha. You guys ready to rock?" Link turned to his companions. They nodded.

"To the Water Temple!"

ooo

Aryll shivered as they descended into the winding tunnels of Tetra's "secret spot".

"Don't worry, Aryll, this place is safe," Medli smiled. Aryll nodded.

"If you say so, Medli..." she responded. Link put a hand on his sister's shoulder as he walked onwards.

"Light, Medli?" he asked. Medli summoned a Red Bubble, which cackled and zipped in front of Link, lighting his way. Aryll's eyes widened at the monster, and she looked from Medli to the fiery skull and back again. Link grinned at Medli and turned back to face the Red Bubble. Medli reached for his hand; his fingers laced with hers. Makar looked around from where he sat on Medli's head; Komali took the rear, hand on the pommel of his sword.

"Ah, here we are. Let's do our thing," Link said to his sister. He let go of Medli's hand and pulled out the Wind Waker. Aryll swung her guitar around from where it had rested on her back. After they played the new melody, the huge stone barrier blocking the entrance burst into many rays of light and then vanished.

"Well...here goes nothing!" Link said, leaping into the hole in the ground. Aryll followed, then Medli and Makar, and lastly, Komali.

"I know I'm gonna regret this..." the Rito prince muttered as he hopped into the hole.


	9. Chapter Eight

Across the Ocean

By Dominus Princeps

_A.N., ZOMG I am teh s0rryz for the long wait! Oddly enough, the advent of summer has not offered any time for me, but I will teh work on this story!_

**Chapter Eight**

Medli shrieked as she fell up to her neck in cool water. Link chuckled at her response.

"You might wanna move," he said. Medli struggled her way over to him and blinked as a reflex as Komali dropped into the water. Makar, safe on Medli's head, was only barely wet.

"I think we're gonna have to teach you how to swim, Medli," Link remarked, looking at their surroundings. The water was neck deep to Medli and only got deeper. The door was apparently underwater.

"You won't be able to fly with wet wings, so I guess it's okay to use them like big paddles..." Link said. Medli made a whimper of discontent in her throat.

"Link...I'm not meant to swim..." she whined. Link raised an eyebrow.

"That may be, but unless you want to sit around here for a while, you'll have to learn. Here, Aryll, you teach Komali, since he probably is already a decent swimmer. I'll work on Medli," Link instructed. His sister nodded and swam quickly over to where Komali was standing in the water uneasily.

"Okay, Medli, can you unfurl your wings here?" Link asked. Medli morphed her arms into wings. They floated on the surface of the water.

"Alright, now watch me swim: see, I use my feet like a bellows while moving my arms like I'm pulling the water," Link demonstrated his stroke on the surface of the water.

"Um..." Medli tried it. She began to sink, and when she sank, she flailed. Link caught her by the waist.

"Here, I'll hold you up. Now, try it," he instructed. Medli imitated his stroke using her wings like big fins. It was a fairly powerful stroke, but Medli had trouble coordinating her legs with the stroke.

"Almost. Now do your legs," Link encouraged. Medli tried...it was hard coordinating both her arms and her legs to move in synch when she had used only her wings her whole life.

"There, you got it! You got it!" Link grinned widely. Medli almost gasped. It was like flying, but with more resistance. However, one didn't have to gauge the winds or ride thermals.

"Try diving. Remember, take a deep breath before you dive; that way you can stay under longer," Link instructed. Medli took in a deep breath, heard Makar do the same, and then dove under. The water was a clear blue and shifted in front of Medli's eyes. She swam around near the bottom for a little bit before standing up to surface.

"I saw the exit of this room. Shall we go?" Medli said to Link.

"Aryll, has Komali learned how to swim yet?" Link asked his sister.

"Yeah, he got it quickly!" Aryll replied. Komali surfaced, hair dripping.

"Good thing my guitar's made of waterproof stuff; otherwise, this would be really bad for it," the blond girl said. Link looked back to them and then dove underwater. Medli followed him, with Makar hanging onto her ponytail as she stroked through the water with her wings. She easily caught up with Link; while he may have been swimming for a lot longer, her wings pushed through the water better than his arms. They swam quickly through the tunnel under the water with Aryll and Komali close behind, then surfaced, gasping, in a huge, domed room. The water made beautiful reflected designs on the ceiling. Link looked down into the water and gasped.

"This water must be a hundred feet deep! At least!" he murmured, amazed. Medli looked down with him.

"Wow..." Komali said as he looked around the room. They spotted an island in the center and swam for it. They pulled themselves ashore and looked around the room.

"Well...it looks like the only door we can get through is that one," Link pointed to a door on the far side of the room. They nodded and jumped into the water again.

"Wait...how far down do you think you can swim? Here, I'll take Makar," Link eyed Medli. She shrugged, took a deep breath, and dove under. She swam as quickly as she could downward. After twenty or thirty seconds of hard paddling, Medli's lungs began to burn. She turned back to the surface and swam powerfully for the light, her buoyancy helping her rise. She broke the surface gasping.

"That was pretty far...but nowhere near how deep the bottom is. You probably got fifty feet down, but it looks at least a hundred," Link sighed. They swam over to the small mesh platform in front of the door. Oddly enough, the door had a doorknob, and the whole affair looked out of place in a temple. It looked like a door that one would encounter in a normal city. Link turned the doorknob, held it for the three (and Makar on Medli's head), then closed it behind them. They were in a room with a deep channel on water running down the center. The water in the channel was running very quickly, so Medli guessed that they wouldn't want to fall in. Seeing as the end of the channel wasn't visible and probably was underwater somewhere along the line, she made up her mind not to slip into the channel. They looked around for some sort of puzzle, but apparently it was just a long room with a deep channel. The five of them ran down the room to the door. It opened as Link turned the doorknob. They were then faced with a room full of large, four-legged, blue, cyclops spiders...standing on the pool of water in the room!

"Holy crap," Komali blinked. He and Link unsheathed their swords and stood in front of Medli, Makar, and Aryll as the spider-like creatures noticed the group and began hopping across the water's surface to greet them. The creatures squeaked and squealed as Komali and Link hacked at them; while Komali only cut legs and thoraxes, Link's Prism Sword let loose with spear-like projectiles of rock. The deadly stone spires either pierced nearby spiders or were aimed at more distant ones. When the room was clear, Link and Komali washed their blades of the green bug blood in the pool in the room and then looked around.

"Looks like there's a switch or two underwater...Medli and Komali, do you think you can swim hard enough to get down there? I know I'm not powerful enough to get down there," Link turned to the Rito.

"For aerial folk, we sure are swimming a lot," Komali grinned. He dove into the water, unfurled his wings, and stroked over so that he was above a pressure pad.

"You'll have to dive to get it. Remember: press hard, then come up," Link instructed. Komali nodded. He took a deep breath, then swam powerfully down, his wings almost perfect for the environment. The one thing that was a disadvantage was that his feathers were wet and thus were a bit heavy. Nonetheless, he swam easily to the pressure pad, inverted himself, and pushed off the pad in order both to press the pad down and to rocket to the surface. Both actions were accomplished. To everyone's surprise, this caused the water level to rise up around ten feet. The problem was that Komali now had to swim far more than he had anticipated. The surface was so close...his lungs were burning, and his throat was sucking...nothing. He broke the surface as spots began dancing across his vision. Komali took a desperate breath and stroked over to where Link and the others were treading water.

"Can you see anything that we can do from this position?" Komali asked.

"If the water were a little higher, I bet we could get to that platform right there," Link pointed. They followed his finger.

"Link...do you think your Iron Boots are heavy enough to send you straight to the bottom? I could help you swim back up if you carry both of us down," Medli suggested.

"Yeah...but what for?" he asked.

"There's another switch. I saw it, too, while I was down there. I bet it raises the water level another bit," Komali explained. Link shrugged. Medli wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Deep breath!" Link said. They both breathed in deeply and then sank quickly, their combined weight and Link's incredibly heavy Iron Boots causing them to rapidly descend through the water. They hit the ground almost right on the switch. Link stepped on it hurriedly and then unequipped his Iron Boots. He pushed off the ground and kicked with his legs, holding to Medli with his arms. She swam through the water using her wings. They broke the surface gasping but alive. The water, indeed, had risen another few feet, allowing them to reach the platform that had the apparent exit on it. They all pulled themselves onto the platform, water streaming from clothing, hair, and skin. Link opened the door to the next room. He stumbled and fell into a shallow pool. The door had no step after it—it dropped three feet into the water.

"Some kind of reflecting pool? It's not very deep..." Aryll frowned as she surveyed the room from her vantage point in the doorway.

"Come on, let's keep going! Who knows what the Black Knuckle is up to?" Link urged. The rest of them nodded and hopped into the pool. The room was square and had a single island that rested a little off center relative to the room. Link hoisted himself up on the island and looked around.

"See anything?" Medli asked as she waded through the water.

"One Hookshot target...but it doesn't look as though it leads anywhere," Link frowned.

"Get it anyway. What's the worst that could happen? I mean, there's no other obvious exit," Komali shrugged. Link took out the Hookshot, aimed it at the target, and fired. The head of the Hookshot stuck in the target, and the chain began retracting. However, the target apparently wasn't sturdy enough to hold Link's weight: it fell off...pulling the ceiling with it! A large section of stone fell not two feet from where Link had landed in the pool. The water began churning. Link barely made it onto the stone island before the water had turned into a huge whirlpool.

"Just pulling down that target made the water do all this?" Aryll watched the violent churning of the water.

"Apparently. But what's this gonna do for us?" Komali sighed. As if to answer his question, the island they stood upon began spinning and descending into the center of the whirlpool.

"I'm scared..." Makar whimpered.

"Beats the Shadow Temple any day of the week," Link muttered. They sank deeper and deeper into the whirlpool until the platform ground to a halt. They looked around, but all they could see was raging water. Link frowned. Then, his eyes widened.

"Hold your br-" his words were cut off as the whirlpool stopped abruptly. The water rushed around them, hurling the group through a tunnel in the wall of the room. Suddenly, a different current caught them, pushing them toward what they hoped was the surface. It was, and they all took breaths of cherished air.

"I wish we knew how to bottle air like submarines can..." Aryll sighed. Makar shivered.

"I like water, but that whirlpool was really too much," he shuddered. Link looked around.

"Some kind of channel..." he remarked. Link dog-paddled over to a small ledge. Pulling himself up, he looked around.

"There's a curve a little further ahead. Let's get there and then see what's up next," Link said. They swam up to the curve and were suddenly gripped by a powerful current.

"Damn! It's strong!" Komali cursed, "Should we fight it?"

"No, go with the flow," Link said, grinning belatedly at his triple rhyme. They merely treaded water as the current sucked them around a bend.

"Does it strike you that this current is really fast?" Medli asked.

"Yeah..." Aryll remarked. They heard a roaring.

"Oh...crap," Link sighed, "Waterfall."

ooo

Tetra shaded her eyes with her hands as she looked toward the horizon. The Tower of the Gods was just visible.

"Just ahead, Miss Tetra! Should we maintain course for the Tower?" Gonzo asked from his position at the ship's wheel.

"Yes! Trim the mainsail when we get within coasting distance of the Tower of the Gods, Gonzo!" Tetra called back above the roar of the waves. The first mate nodded and stayed his course. When they were within the coasting distance, Niko and Mako trimmed the mainsail, allowing the ship to coast on its momentum. Soon enough, the pirate ship and its crew were inside the ring of columns and slowly coasting toward the entrance to the Tower of the Gods.

"I'm gonna take a dinghy in. Drop anchor and wait for me. I won't be long," Tetra said, lowering herself in a small rowboat.

"Tetra!" Goto called over the side.

"Goto? What's up?" Tetra called back.

"...Be careful. And don't do anything stupid!" the dark-haired man said. Tetra shook her head and put the dinghy's oars into the water. She rowed into the Tower, shivering at the cool breeze inside. It was warm, even hot, outside, but inside, in the somewhat mildewed, shady Tower, it was cool. Tetra rowed over to an open mouth that once spewed water. She hoisted herself into it and began her climb of the Tower. Much later, after many empty rooms and solved traps, the pirate reached the top of the Tower, where a giant bell hung.

"I hope this is all I need to do to open Hyrule again...I know the King of Red Lions said something different, but I think that boat's lost some sense since my father's spirit...well, anyway, I'll try ringing it," Tetra sighed, pulling out a grappling hook. She swung it a few times before letting it fly loose. A perfect throw! She held on and jumped, swinging back and forth, making the bell ring. Its ring seemed quiet and hollow, not a rich sound as one would expect from such a large bell.

"Silly, silly girl...weren't you listening to the King of Red Lions? You need more than just this bell and your meager power to open such a portal to the Kingdom of Hyrule..." the Black Knuckle chuckled. Tetra lost her grip on her grappling hook and crashed to the ground. She quickly picked herself up and unsheathed her shortsword.

"Now, now, little girl, I don't think that'll do much good...not when you saw how well Link's magic sword did. I'll let you live on one condition...you bring me the sword Link stole from me. Will you do it willingly, or will I have to torture you and keep you under my will?" the massive warrior asked.

"You'll have to take me first. My crew and I-" Tetra began fiercely.

"Your crew is dead, or in the least, useless. Look over the side..." the Black Knuckle said, a smirk evident in his voice. Tetra looked over the side of the Tower and choked as she saw the wreckage of her ship.

"How could you...?" Tetra whimpered. When she turned, the Black Knuckle was standing right in front of her. Before she could dodge, the Black Knuckle caught her by the neck and lifted her into the air. Tetra's frantic kicking was no match for the sheer strength of the heavily armored sorcerer. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she went limp. The Black Knuckle laid her across his shoulder and called a cyclone to carry the two of them away.

"Fool girl. I honestly wonder if they think they've got a chance. After all, my past displays of power have been more than sufficient to strike fear into any heart," the sorcerer frowned.

ooo

Makar worriedly jumped up and down on Link. The Korok was the only one of the five who'd kept consciousness. His woody body wasn't harmed by the impact of the water, and he didn't need to breathe, in the strict sense of the term. Giving up on Link, Makar moved over to Medli. He hopped up and down on her stomach. Her face contorted, and she coughed water up. Makar continued to hop on her stomach, causing her to cough more water. She opened her eyes and hugged the Korok.

"Thanks, Makar...where are we?" the Rito girl asked.

"I think we should wake the others up first," Makar squeaked worriedly.

"Oh, yeah, of course! What was I thinking?" Medli smacked her forehead. She lifted Aryll, as she was the lightest of the group, and Medli wasn't nearly as strong as Link or Komali. Medli pumped Aryll's stomach with her hands. After a few seconds, Aryll coughed water and opened her eyes.

"Ugh...Waterfalls are nasty!" the blond girl muttered, rolling onto her stomach and getting up. She found her guitar floating in the shallows and slung it across her back.

"You help your big brother, and I'll help Komali, okay?" Medli told Aryll. The blond girl nodded and ran over to her brother. Medli rolled Komali over with mild effort and began pumping his chest.

"Give of your breath! I think he can't breathe for himself!" Makar said worriedly, hopping from one foot-stub to the other. Medli took a deep breath, put her lips to Komali's, and exhaled into his mouth. _I hope Link comes to after this,_ Medli grinned to herself, breathing into Komali again. Suddenly, his tongue shot into her mouth.

"Hey!" Medli pushed him down. The Rito prince blushed and turned away from Medli.

"Everybody alright?" Link asked groggily, rubbing his eyes and clearing his throat.

"As far as I can tell," Medli nodded.

"I'm fine," Aryll said.

"Doin' alright," Komali replied.

"Ready to explore more!" Makar said excitedly. Then, with a note of reluctance, "But no more waterfalls."

"Well, it appears we're on another island...can anyone see any kind of door or switch?" Link frowned, looking around.

"There's a Hookshot target!" Aryll pointed to the white ring on a brown plate. It hung above a door.

"Hmm. Let's see if my Hookshot is strong enough...everybody hang onto me," Link pulled the odd apparatus out from behind his shield. Everyone grabbed him and hung on as Link fired the spear from the barrel of the contraption. The spear caught, and the chain rewound itself...pulling the five of them through the air onto the platform below the target.

"That is a powerful little winding mechanism..." Komali breathed. Link opened the door (which, again, had a knob) and waited for everyone to enter the room before closing the door. They faced a large, rectangular room with a door on the other side of it.

"Empty...five Rupees says there's someone I'm gonna have to fight..." Link sighed, walking for the door. When he got near it, metal bars slammed in front of it.

"Get ready," Link said coolly, unsheathing his sword from his back. Komali unsheathed his shortsword from his waist and held it in ready stance. Aryll stood near Medli, looking back and forth between Link and Komali.

"Is Komali a good fighter?" Aryll asked.

"I don't know. I've never seen him fight," Medli shrugged.

"I know my Big Brother can take anything he faces," Aryll smiled confidently.

"Your brother is a powerful fighter," Medli sighed, "and a good person, too."

"You're a nice girl, Medli. I'm glad my brother is with you," the blond girl put an arm around Medli's waist.

"Thanks, Aryll. You're nice, too, and I'm glad that Link has you for a sister," Medli put an arm around Aryll's shoulders and hugged the girl to her.

"Komali, watch out!" Link cried. The Rito prince ducked a wild swing from a gigantic tentacle. They all turned and faced a huge octopus with a large, spiked shell on its back.

"A Rather Large Octo!" Link gasped. Medli snorted.

"What? It's not a Big Octo..." he muttered. Komali slashed at the Octo, but his attacks rebounded from the sea creature's rubbery skin. He jumped back from another tentacle lash and turned to Link.

"How do you think we can defeat it? Its unprotected skin reflected my attack, and that shell covers the rest of it..." the Rito prince frowned.

"Maybe its back is its weak point. I'll distract it, and you check around back," Link suggested. Komali nodded. Link began shouting and attacking the Octo's tentacles. The beast made a funny noise and began flailing its tentacles at Link.

"Aha! There's a bulbous thing on its back, right below the shell. I'll try that!" Komali called.

"Nice work!" Link said. The sound of a blade cutting flesh reached Medli's ears. Suddenly, the Octo went wild, its tentacles beating the air and ground in a crazed manner. Link tried to dodge the attacks, but one caught him square in the chest, and he was sent hurtling to the ground, where he tumbled several times, then was still.

"Link!" Medli cried.

"Big Brother!" Aryll yelped.

"Swordsman Link!" Makar squeaked from atop Medli's head. They ran over to his side.

"I'll...be fine. Come on, it's not dead yet!" Link winced, rubbing his rib cage and getting up. The Octo was now facing off with Komali, presenting its back to Link.

"Alright, Komali, I'm going for it now!" Link called.

"Hurry!" the Rito prince said, ducking a thick tentacle attack. Link leaped at the Octo, swinging his Prism Sword in a powerful two-hand jump attack. The sword connected and also unleashed a powerful rock spire on contact, embedding the rock in the Octo's weak point. The monster went absolutely berserk, thrashing and flailing its tentacles all around. In its ballistic rage, it nailed both Link and Komali in a devastating one-two punch. The Octo suddenly turned its sights on Aryll, Medli, and Makar. Makar squealed with fright and buried his face in Medli's hair. Aryll shouted at the Octo to get its attention.

"Aryll, you can't fight!" the Rito girl hissed.

"I'll keep its attention; you summon something!" the blond girl replied, jumping up and down and waving her arms. The Octo steered over to attack Aryll, but stopped dead in its tracks as Medli's summoned Stalfos swung a destructive mace attack right into its weak point. The Octo shrieked, tipped onto its back, and let out a last breath in a funny sighing sound. Its body disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, leaving its shell behind. Medli looked into the shell and found a small blue crystal. She picked it up, rolled it in her palm, and frowned.

"What is it?" Link asked, wincing as he walked over to Medli.

"I don't know. Hey, Link...are you sure you're all right?" the Rito girl put a hand on his cheek.

"I'm fine, babe. It just hurts a bit to breathe," the blond boy dismissed her. Medli put a hand to his ribs and felt one at a funny angle.

"You've got a broken rib, Link," she frowned at him.

"I've had worse, Medli. I'll drink some Red Jelly and suck it up," Link said, pulling out a bottle of the foul-smelling medicine. He gulped a sizable quantity down and shuddered at the taste.

"You alright, Komali?" Medli asked her fellow Rito.

"Hand me some of that medicine, Link, I got some nasty bruises," the prince muttered. He finished off the medicine and handed Link the bottle back.

"Yuck!" he stuck his tongue out.

"Yeah, it's not delicious," Link chuckled. Medli handed Link the blue crystal.

"What do you think it is?" she asked. Aryll took a look at it as well.

"It's pretty. I bet it'd make a nice necklace," the blond girl smiled.

"I remember what that is! It's a Fragment of the Sea!" Makar squealed with delight.

"A what?" they all turned to look at the little Korok.

"I've heard of them from the Great Deku Tree! They're magical crystals that allow for better movement in water and also allow land creatures near them to breathe underwater," Makar said.

"Cool! So, if I hold this crystal in my pocket, everyone around me can breathe underwater?" Link asked.

"As far as I know. Let's go try it and find out!" Makar replied excitedly. They walked through the now unbarred door across from them and looked into a dark, deep pool. Link put the Fragment of the Sea into a pocket with a button and a zipper so he wouldn't lose it and dove in. He surfaced thirty seconds later.

"Wow! It's really easy to swim, and I can really breathe underwater! Come on, you guys! But, stay close. I don't know how far the range of its effect is," Link breathed, excitement clear in his voice. The others jumped in and swam over to him. On the count of three, they dove and swam deep down into the water. Medli took a breath, and found that the water flowed in and out of her lungs smoothly like air normally would. _Powerful magic..._ she thought to herself. Plus, it was really easy to swim, almost like gliding on a constant thermal. After five minutes or so of swimming downwards, the group reached the floor. The Fragment of the Sea apparently let them see better underwater as well, as it was fairly easy to identify the door that led out of the room. Link opened it by turning the knob, and they swam out into a room with a huge whirlpool that flung them around in a wild circle. The whirlpool didn't drain into any deeper part, so apparently the water was just being churned about. Link pointed to a crystal hanging in a dragon statue's mouth. He made a motion for everyone to follow him (so nobody drowned) and swam with the current so that he could get to the statue. Everyone held onto a tooth of the dragon's mouth while Link tried to hit the statue with his sword. His grip kept slipping, however, and the whirlpool's tug messed with his aim. Komali tapped his shoulder and mimicked the motions for firing the Hookshot. Link nodded and sheathed his sword, then pulled out the Hookshot. He cocked it and fired it. The spear shot out forcefully enough not to be moved by the current and struck the crystal. All of a sudden, the whirlpool stopped. Link put his thumb up, signaling everyone to swim upwards to see what could now be accessed. A hatch was visible on the ceiling. They all swam for it. Medli began to feel a tugging at her feet. The whirlpool was starting again! Link yanked the hatch open and grabbed onto the ledge it offered. Komali grabbed his ankles, and Medli his ankles, and Aryll last. Makar hung doggedly onto Medli's ponytail. In a feat of strength, Link heaved everyone through the hatch and closed it quickly behind them. They pushed off the bottom and broke the surface quickly.

"Water breathing is okay, but nothing beats fresh air," Komali sighed, spewing water from his lungs. Link swam over to a ledge and hoisted himself up, then opened the ornate chest sitting on the ledge.

"The Big Key. Excellent!" he grinned, pocketing the gilt key.

"And there's the door! ...fifty feet up," Aryll frowned, pointing at the door which was far above them. No ladder or clear way to the door was visible.

"Maybe we missed a switch or something. I'll swim down and look for it," Link said. He dove down and swam quickly into the dark water.

"So what do you think of saving the world?" Medli grinned at Aryll and Komali.

"It's more work than I expected. Link makes it look so easy!" the Rito prince frowned.

"Komali's right...but it's fun nonetheless. I'm just glad I can help out my Big Brother in any way possible," Aryll shrugged. Suddenly, the water level began rising quickly.

"Looks like Link found the switch..." Komali grinned. They had to work to keep on the surface, but soon enough they could reach the ledge with the door. Link came up beside them.

"We gotta hurry and finish this temple so we can then go find those two Medallions and fight the Black Knuckle!" Link said, opening the door. They were faced with a familiar scene...the room with the island in the center. The island was either not fastened to the bottom and floated or was on some kind of column that rose with the water, because the water level was much higher than when they had first come in, yet the island was still on top of the water.

"Think we should dive to the bottom and see what's there?" Link grinned.

"I'm starting to hate water..." Makar whined from his position on Medli's head. They dove from the short height of the doorway and swam quickly to the bottom. It was dark at the bottom of the deep, deep pool, but the Fragment of the Sea let them see at least the twenty or thirty feet around them. Link swam over and found a crank-like mechanism. It took all four of them to turn it, as it was hard to move it in the water. Makar wasn't much help, as he didn't have hands or the mass necessary to have any effect on the mechanism. Slowly but surely, the four of them turned the crank until it couldn't be turned anymore. A dull grinding noise could be heard in the water. They swam upwards for what seemed like an eternity. Apparently, the crank had raised the water level again. Soon enough, light could be seen filtering through the water. They broke the surface and took grateful gulps of air. Now, the island was much larger, and instead of appearing to be land, it now looked merely like a slab of stone.

"Does anyone hear the sound of something big swimming?" Aryll asked. Link looked down and yelped.

"Everyone on the island!" he cried, swimming frantically for the slab of stone. They all quickly hoisted themselves onto the stone island just as a gigantic fish leaped out of the water, snapping its enormous jaws and showing off rows and rows of saber-like fangs. It soared clear over the rocky island and landed smoothly in the water again.

"Now how are we gonna fight _that?_" Komali frowned.

"I'm gonna swim for it. Does anyone know how to fire a bow?" Link pulled his Hookshot and sword off his back.

"I'm a decent shot," Aryll offered. Link gave her his bow and quiver of arrows. He put a hand on the Fragment of the Sea to make sure it was safely in his pocket, then dove into the water. Aryll nocked an arrow to the bowstring and drew the arrow back. She let an arrow loose as the massive fish swam near the island. The arrow struck the fish in a soft spot right next to its eye. It writhed in pain, not noticing Link sneaking up on it. He let loose with his Hookshot, piercing the fish's eye and drawing him to it. Link attempted to stab the fish, but he couldn't build enough momentum to swing his sword very hard in the water. The fish somehow sent electricity coursing through its skin, electrocuting Link through his Hookshot. Link withdrew to the surface and hauled himself onto the island.

"Damn...it's tough!" he panted, shaking his head. Medli brushed a soaked blond lump of hair out of his face.

"Hey, I've got an idea! Makar, you can summon Knights, right?" Medli suddenly pulled the Korok off her head.

"Well, I can summon Wizrobes who can summon Knights," Makar replied.

"Do it, and I bet that Knight can throw Link at the fish when it jumps again. Then, he can attack it and probably hurt it a lot," the Rito girl suggested. Sure enough, the fish jumped again, receiving a pair of arrows to the belly from Aryll. Makar summoned a Wizrobe and told it to summon a Knight. The muscular warrior picked Link up and prepared to hurl the boy at the fish. The fish chose that time to hurl itself onto the island. Surprised, the Knight instead threw Link into the fish's mouth. Horrified, they could only watch as the fish swallowed Link and dove again, apparently satisfied. Suddenly, it began leaping in and out of the water frantically, flailing and thrashing. A rock spire pierced through its belly, followed by another. It leaped out one last time, and this time Link burst from its belly, covered in slime and fish blood, both of which washed off when he hit the water. The fish died in a burst of smoke, leaving a Heart Container, which Link gratefully took. The stone island glowed, revealing a Triforce symbol. Soggy and exhausted, Link needed the help of Medli and Komali to stand while he conducted Aryll in her song. When it was finished, Link promptly fell asleep. The water level fell to its original height, and Komali, Medli, and Aryll all took hold of Link and swam over to the exit of the temple. They dove and rose to the surface, then left the temple.

"Well, that was nice and short," Medli breathed, draping Link's arm around her shoulders and supporting him with her arm around his waist. She and Komali carried him through the long, long tunnels to the surface, with Aryll cradling Makar in her arms. When they reached sunlight and fresh air at last, Link woke and groaned.

"Man, I'm tired..." he muttered. Komali fell back into step with Aryll, but Link kept his arm around Medli, and Medli kept hers around Link. After a short walk, they made it down to the shore of Tetra's secret spot, where the King of Red Lions awaited. A black hawk was perched on the King's nose.

"The Black Knuckle sends his regards," the hawk spoke arrogantly, turning its beak up at Link.

"A hawk that speaks in our language?" Link gasped.

"He would like you to know that unless you surrender Ganon's saber to him, he'll kill Zelda. He says to find him at the Old Way. Good luck," the hawk sneered, soaring into the air in a few quick wingbeats.

"He's got Zelda? We've gotta hurry!" Link cried. He stumbled into the boat.

"You need a nap...hell, we all need naps. Let's set course and then sleep," Komali remarked. Makar climbed up to the crown of the King of Red Lions' head.

"I'll keep watch. I don't need to sleep like you do," he piped up. Link pulled out the Wind Waker.

"But...where are we going?" Aryll asked.

"The 'Old Way'..." Komali frowned.

"Like the way to Hyrule? Tower of the Gods?" Medli suggested.

"Let's hit Outset for supplies and beds, then head for the Tower of the Gods," Link said. He conducted a whirlwind, but was asleep before the boat had fully risen from the water.


End file.
